Memories
by NightWolfMoon
Summary: Alex begins to get disturbing dreams of death and torture. She finds some scenes to have been true. Everything is covered by secrecy, and Alex learns about her long-forgotten past. Who do you trust when you cannot even trust yourself?
1. The Devil

**Chapter 1: The Devil**

_"Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule." - from Great Expectations_

There was no beat.

There was no melody.

Each instrument was its own, refusing to cooperate with the others in the symphony. The percussionists fought to outdo the other, the bass and brass joining the battle of conquering the young girl's delicate eardrums. They gave no heed to her weak coughs or soft moans and cries. If anything, those pitiful, human sounds merely gave vigor to the merciless orchestra that cackled and whispered insults in her presence. They spoke in gravelly voices and sang in shrills, and the otherworldly faces of shadow and smoke played hide-and-seek within the raging fire, almost dancing to the music no human should ever have the misfortune to hear.

On and on the war song went, the most powerful force in Mother Nature's arsenal threatening to eradicate the virus invading the territory of its brothers. The trills of the flutes and other woodwinds broke out like malicious laughter, whispering of doom and eternal death. There was no hope. There had never _been_ hope. The creation of human beings had been a joke—cruel amusement for the Creator. The young girl cried and coughed as she crawled, refusing to listen to the evil that surrounded her.

"Mummy!" she cried out; her words were choked out by pitiful coughs as her lungs tried desperately to expel the tainted air she was forced to breathe in.

The very air burned her lungs and seared her throat and nostrils. Her mouth was dry, and her lips were chapped. She needed water. She needed anything to make the pain go away, but the war song could only get louder, drowning out her beggarly thoughts.

Faintly from outside, the girl heard the cries of fear and disbelief of the people around the city. They were very likely terrified of another tragedy like the one from the year before. Eyelids beginning to grow heavy, the girl turned her head towards where the window was and tried to move there. The fire was moving quickly, its gluttonous flames never satisfied. It only wanted more, and she could hear it chanting devilishly as she inched forward, limbs weak.

"More… more… more…"

The sickening chant made the girl's heart pound and her stomach flip and tie into a knot. After breathing in too deeply, she nearly fell to her side as she coughed; acid burnt what was left of her throat. Dark yellow liquid ended up on the floor before her, and her nose burned with the most foul of stenches. She realized the odor of cooking flesh began to surround her, screaming joining the orchestra.

It came from downstairs—_No_, she pleaded—as well as just behind her. It was not until the smell registered in her mind she realized that it was _her_ flesh that was burning.

A yelp was ripped away from her, making her throat hurt all the more, and she tried to move towards the window, having to lash her hands out forwards and claw at the knotted boards to drag her exhaustion-laden body forward. Her teeth gritted as she did this, her tears beginning to evaporate. Soon, her eyes felt dry, sending pain through those tawny orbs. Her eyelids then squeezed shut to try and keep in the remaining moisture as her skin tightened. There was also pain shooting through her fingertips, but nothing registered nearly as much as the creeping fire, licking over her milky skin and sighing with delight as the fresh meat provided for them.

_Almost…_, she thought. She risked opening her eyes in a squint, but her vision grew blurry. She couldn't be more than a few arm lengths from the window, but her strength was dropping dangerously low. And with that falling strength went her hope as well. If it were possible, she'd cry more, but she was spent. The fire was taking away her moisture, and she was sure that one of her feet was now gone, the ruby and vermillion demons working their way up her leg. She tried to move some more, but her right hand caught the path of one of the flames.

The girl could not scream. She could not cry. She could only stare with her hazy vision in awe as the demons licked at her fingertips and nails. They began to work their way towards her knuckles, and the girl opened her mouth slightly, legs curling up to where her knees touched her chest. She laid her head down on the floor, long hair creating a puddle around her small body. She pulled the disappearing hand near her face, mind no longer able to register what was happening. She was growing oh-so sleepy, and only a weak moan came from her as the war song lifted into another grand crescendo. The flames cheered, and it wasn't until they began a new dance the girl realized the window had been opened. Slowly, her head inclined so her half-lidded eyes would face that direction.

Standing among the flames was a shadow that took on a full, humanoid shape rather than the flickering half-faces the girl had been seeing. The shadow stood straight in an arrogant pose with its hip cocked and hands on the waist.

_A woman,_ the girl thought weakly.

Long hair reaching the shadow-woman's calves fluttered about her slender frame, and, after watching the girl for a few moments, she stuck out one hand, palm down, and waved it in front of her. At her command, the fire disappeared completely into a small, glowing orb of orange that went to her palm and disappeared as she made a fist.

**Clack, clack, clack**.

The raised heels of the shadow-woman's shoes made thunder claps to replace the awful symphony that had taken away the girl's hand and foot. She could not move as the shadow-woman knelt down by her on one knee, elbow settling on her right thigh, which was parallel with the ground. Her head came down along with her hand, fingers hot like the fire, yet cooling down quickly to the temperature of ice. Suspended in where her face should be were eyes of the coldest grey the girl had ever seen. They were like rings of quicksilver; she did not have to touch them to feel its arctic chill. It burned worse than even the fire, and it seemed the chill was slowly working its way from her flesh down to her soul.

The unnatural silence made those unblinking eyes all the more menacing, and the girl found herself becoming more lucid as time went by. Her bottom lip quivered as the realization of what was before her filled her mind with fear. So desperately, she silently pleaded to hear the orchestra again. She longed to be caught in its passionate sound and give herself to the crimson and orange altar.

Sacrificing her flesh would be better than allowing this monster steal her soul.

Breath that was warm but left the girl shivering could be felt on her jaw and neck as the shadow-woman spoke. "And here I thought you'd put up more of a fight… Well, my mistake." She chuckled the last part, chill after chill shot down the young girl's spine like lightning bolts.

There had been a smooth quality to the shadow-woman's voice, yet, there was also an underlying edge to it as well. It was like frozen blade slicing through her heart, the pain feeding this demon's pleasure.

The girl's lips parted an inch more to form a scream that was unable to form. Her heart thundered as loudly and quickly as the drums had been only moments earlier, and the shadow-woman came closer still. Her features could now faintly be made out: full lips, almond-shaped eyes with long lashes, and a small nose. Her whole body seemed to have been crafted of shadow and smoke that had somehow become solid. Her skin grew increasingly colder still, and her eyes closed as those cool lips met the girl's throat. There was a flash of bright blue light before it all collapsed into grave darkness.

**xxx**

"Miss Russo!"

Alex's head snapped up from her closed history book at the exclamation, sleep leaving her completely and abruptly. She rubbed her eyes as she looked up at Mr. Laritate, who had been talking about the Louisiana Purchase when she fell asleep. He had been filling in for Mrs. Cannon, who was out of the state for a few weeks to visit her ailing sister, and, as usual, he seemed to be trying to make Alex work harder in school, whereas Mrs. Cannon (and most other teachers) had already deemed her a lost cause.

"Uh… yes, Mr. Laritate?" Alex smoothed down her dark hair; her heart was beating so quickly, Alex was almost worried it might just stop suddenly. A chill ran up her spine at the thought, those cruel, silver eyes invading her mind. She shivered again before forcing those eyes away from her sanctuary.

"Since you were sleeping during my lecture," Mr. Laritate drawled, "that must mean you know all about the Louisiana Purchase. So, share with us your knowledge: Who was president at the time; who did he send; where did he send them; what were they supposed to buy; why were they supposed to buy it; how much were they supposed to pay for it; what did they buy instead; how much was it; who offered it at that price; why did he offer it; and once the deal was made, why was the president upset?"

As par usual when asking Alex these Justin-level questions, his voice was quick and curt as if already knowing she had no chance of answering correctly.

Blinking slowly, Alex had already forgotten over half of the questions, but she remembered learning a little bit about the Louisiana Purchase in a _Schoolhouse Rock_ video in elementary school. She could not remember any of the lyrics to the songs, but she remembered seeing an image of Jefferson shaking Napoleon's hand after Napoleon handed over the deed to Louisiana.

"Uh… Thomas Jefferson was president, and he bought Louisiana from Napoleon, who ruled France at the time. We got it because of…" _Damn, what was that thing Mr. Laritate was always talking about?_ "Manifest Destiny…?" Alex knew that she did not answer all of the questions, but she figured that what she had said should suffice, seeing as it was much more than she would normally give as an answer. However, she was four demerits away from suspension, and she had decided to tread lightly—at least until after winter break.

A few chuckles and snickers blew around the classroom, making Alex's ears burn, and Mr. Laritate heaved a heavy sigh. "Harper, can you help her out?"

Turning around, Alex saw that Harper's hand had been raised, probably since the questions had first been asked. She put it down and answered each in order, starting with naming the president as Thomas Jefferson (well, at least Alex had gotten _that_ right), who had sent Jay and Madison to Paris to buy New Orleans.

_New Orleans?_ Alex thought. _I thought this was the _Louisiana _Purchase!_

Harper went into a bit of detail about how the Spanish had gotten hold of the Louisiana territory after the French were basically kicked out of North America by the British after the French and Indian war—_The Brits were in that war?_ wondered Alex. _Since when?_—but then France had gotten it back after Napoleon came to power. Alex zoned out a bit as Harper spoke, but she heard something about Haiti and some "trouble-maker" with a name Alex couldn't bother herself to try and pronounce.

"Very good." Mr. Laritate returned to his lecture, writing the names of the treaties on the blackboard. He soon began talking about Louis and Clark, but Alex just zoned out again, only catching bits and pieces of his speech as she flipped the smooth pages of her text book to the correct page.

Instead of listening however, Alex took out her notebook, flipped it to a clean page, and began to sketch the little girl in her dream. The girl had looked to be about eleven or twelve with brown eyes, a pink mouth, small nose, and a face slightly rounded at the jawline with remnants of baby fat. Her legs and arms were lean, and her hands had shown calluses. Her honey-toned hair had been tangled and knotted, falling down to the floor as she crawled. She had been wearing a night gown that may have been white once upon a time, but it had a light brown-yellow tint that showed age—possibly a hand-me-down from her older sister or mother.

Alex worked meticulously on the sketch, using light strokes for cross-hatching to mark the cast shadow on features and on the ground below her. She used her fingers to rub the graphite, spreading it evenly to value shade. Alex had been working on the human profile, and she had finally gotten proportions down. However, noses still tended to give her trouble, so it took her about five tries to get it right.

She was just about finished when the bell rang, and graphite stained the ring and pinky fingers of her left hand. She closed her notebook gingerly, not wanting the picture to smear. She then dumped her text book into the dark-colored backpack before placing her notebook in the front. She followed Harper out of the classroom, the two going towards English. Alex's stomach growled, ready for lunch.

"It's our junior year, Alex. You should really try harder in class," Harper said, obviously concerned that her best friend may end up in a dead-end job just as Justin had predicted on multiple occasions.

She rewrapped the deep green scarf around her neck, making sure not to disturb the holly leaves and berries. It had taken her a long time to sew them on, and she seemed a bit regretful for using real leaves instead of fake ones as Alex had suggested. Holly was also attached to Harper's red headband, and a cream-colored sweater coat flowed around a dress with pine needles sewn over the soft fabric in an over-lapping pattern.

"Yeah, I should probably come to school at eight in the morning too, but that's not gonna happen either," Alex retorted humorously with a snort. She readjusted the strap of her backpack over her left shoulder, the weight pulling on her navy overcoat, which was unbuttoned to show her top, denim skirt, leggings, and boots. She wiped the graphite on her skirt as she and Harper headed towards the senior hall.

Harper rolled her eyes at her friend's sarcasm. "I'm serious, Alex. Colleges won't even _look_ at you if you only do just enough to slide by, and even if you do, you're not prepared enough to get by in college. You'll just end up flunking or dropping out. You may even get academic probation or just get _kicked_ out!" Harper took some quick, deep breaths to calm herself down. "You also need to participate in an extracurricular activity. Three weeks of Happy Helper's Club and being in one play just isn't enough."

"Hey," Alex argued, "I'm in Art Society."

"Not anymore." Harper shook her head. "You missed too many meetings, so you were dismissed. Terry Long told me she tried to tell you last week in art class, while you were painting Gatobella sleeping on a pillow. She said it looked really good, by the way."

"Then why am I out? I don't remember any meetings."

"Every Thursday morning before school starts."

"_What_?!" The two entered English class, and Alex dropped her backpack into her seat. On the desk next to Alex's, Harper set down her own book bag, grunting lightly as she did so.

As the two made their way towards the cafeteria, Harper suggested, "How about Spanish Club? Delilah Meeks is in it, and she doesn't even speak Spanish aside from '_Hola'_. You could just sign up for salsa dancing. Or maybe Debate Club. You're opinionated."

"Do any of them meet in the mornings?" Just the thought of having to get up early was making Alex feel tired.

"Spanish Club does," Harper admitted, "but the dancers meet on Tuesday nights."

"I don't know. Dancing sounds like exercise," Alex groaned, hating the idea of exercise just as much as getting up early. She had failed gym freshman year for that very reason. It was first period, and unlike most coaches who passed everyone who bothered to show up every day, Coach Rhodes made participation and scores on the fitness test half of each person's final grade.

Sighing, Harper muttered, "What do you want? There's no Lazy Club here, and even if there was, it'd be dismissed because the president was too lazy to do anything."

Alex's jaw set in irritation, but she knew that her friend was right. She did not want to sell movie tickets, bag groceries, or pick up garbage on the side of the freeway in an orange jumpsuit, but Alex did not like the idea of having to work hard. She wanted to paint, but there was no way of knowing how far that would get her in life. Her mom said that just painting would not get her enough money to afford the cost of living—especially in New York City, and that she needed a Plan B. Alex was not much for plans. Those alone took work and only led to even _more_ work.

"How about Book Club?" Harper suggested. "They meet in the afternoon, there's no exercise, and newcomers get to suggest the next book. You could suggest one by H. J. Darling. I know you don't really like to read, but her books are growing in popularity, and you already know that you like them. Well, at least that one book you read."

Thinking for a moment, Alex bit the inside of her cheek. Besides _Charmed and Dangerous: The Story of the Lost Wand_, the last book Alex had read was _Green Eggs and Ham_, but Alex knew that Harper would keep bugging her about extracurricular activities. That meant her parents would soon start bugging her about it as well. She needed to make a choice, so she first thought about debate club. Justin had tried it once but got too nervous when it was his turn to speak and ended up running out of the room to puke.

Alex could put up a pretty good argument, but she would have to do research about her standing (she preferred to just BS through all her arguments if she didn't have enough information on the subject). In book club, however, she could always just read sparknotes or one of the book reports Justin did—some hadn't even been for school. He always kept them in a special archive, proud of his work and how it progressed over the years.

Finally, Alex heaved a sigh as they approached the lunch line. "Fine. I'll join Book Club. Do you know what they're reading now? I don't want to read something big and boring." Alex grimaced at the thought of reading one of those huge books Justin enjoys to read when he can't go outside (or even when he can but just doesn't feel like it since he has no friends).

Harper beamed at Alex and grabbed a tray. "They just finished reading _Wuthering Heights _by Emily Brontë. Go to room three-hundred-five tomorrow afternoon, and bring a book to suggest. Mrs. Gray won't let you bring in a book less than one-hundred-fifty pages, but it isn't like you'll have to worry about reading _War and Peace_." Still smiling, Harper got some chicken nuggets and a cup of mashed potatoes.

_Even if I did, I'll just look up the sparknotes on the internet_, thought Alex. "Okay." She got a slice of pizza that looked safe and followed Harper to the table.

**xxx**

Instead of homework, Alex had immediately started drawing the little girl from her dream onto a stretch canvas, a mixed CD playing her favorite music from the far corner of her room. She had started painting the walls that may have once been white, but it now had the angry smoke choking out its dim light. The girl had a sickly pallor, and Alex found herself tearing up as she began to paint the girl's face. She had to wait for the paint to dry on the canvas, seeing that she had not made the color light enough. She mixed in a bit more white on her paint palette, a tear falling into the mixture. She sniffed, and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her large, button-up shirt. She wore it whenever she painted so that paint would not get all over her clothes—her mom had gotten angry after seeing all of her jeans and shirts splattered with paint.

On Alex's bed was a picture of the shadow-woman standing before the fire after she came in through the window. Alex had used oil pastels, and she had stared at the woman for nearly twenty minutes, thinking that she seemed so familiar. Next to the picture was another, but it depicted the eyes that had seemed to pierce the young girl's soul. Alex had used charcoal, and the area around the eyes was black, as if they were suspended in ink. She had not sprayed it yet, so she had to be careful not to let it smudge.

After she finished mixing the paint, Alex tried again, getting the skin color done correctly. It took an hour or so for her to get the shine and the shadows, the CD already on its sixth repeat. However, it still looked much better than her last painting of a person.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alex tried to picture exactly how the fire's damning light played over the poor girl's skin as the heat robbed her of moisture. It was going to be very difficult, and Alex only screwed up the entire face with the first few strokes. She was going to need a different type of brush for this, and she'd need an experimentation sheet to try out different ways to get this right.

With a sigh, the budding artist moved on to the girl's fearful eyes, and within them, Alex saw all of her fears: fear of dying, fear of fire, fear of never seeing her parents again, fear of the shadow-woman, and fear of being incomplete.

Alex did not understand that final fear. She wiped her eyes, smearing a bit of paint on her cheeks and brow, and moved onto the girl's pink lips. They were parted slightly, as if yearning to make one final plea for life, and though they were not exactly full, they could not be called thin either—bow shaped? Was that what it was called?

Thoughts began to trickle through the painter's mind, and Alex found herself wondering what the girl would have looked like as a teenager. What would she have wanted to do? Would she have been an academic? Would she have been athletic? Would she have been artistic? Would she have had a boyfriend?

Shaking her head, Alex tried to force the thoughts out of her head. _It was just a dream. This girl isn't even real_.

"Mew."

Giggling slightly, Alex looked over at her cat, who had jumped onto her bed and was inspecting the two pictures. Alex loved Gatobella's meow. Although the grey and white cat had nearly reached her mature size of four feet from head to tail and weighed approximately ten pounds, Gatobella had a meow like a tiny, newborn kitten. It always seemed to make Alex laugh, even in the mood she was at the moment.

Alex had gotten Gatobella for her sixteenth birthday a few months ago, and she learned much about Maine Coons from the veterinarian when Gatobella had gotten her shots (protesting the entire way, Alex remembered). However, Gatobella sometimes did not act like a typical Maine Coon, who were normally very quiet and didn't usually pester owners for attention. Gatobella was normally fairly talkative and always seemed to want something from Alex.

Upon receiving her, Alex had gotten Max to feed and water her, but Gatobella refused to eat until _Alex_ filled her food bowl—same with her water. Alex sometimes half-wondered if Gatobella was actually a wizard in disguise, sent by her parents to teach her to be more responsible. Alex did not really mind after a while, enjoying being able to keep a pet alive for more than a week, unlike the fish she had when she was eight. However, Max was still the one who cleaned the litter box.

"Mew." Gatobella jumped down from the bed and scampered towards the desk next to Alex's easel. She climbed up the desk and leaned towards the canvas, using her paw to point at the girl's face. She turned her eyes towards Alex. "Meow." This time, she sounded more insistent.

Smiling, Alex followed Gatobella's paw, and her smile fell as her lips parted. The palette and brush fell from her hands, muscles unable to tense and hold them up any longer. Her legs gave way beneath her, and only a sharp pain in the back of Alex's head registered before everything went black.


	2. Wheel of Fortune

**Chapter 2: Wheel of Fortune**

"_We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is disappearing." - R. D. Laing_

Lips pressed firmly against the girl's feverish skin, the shadow-woman felt sparks of electricity pas through her mouth and into her body. Some Undead claimed to have this feeling while draining their victims of blood or devouring their flesh, but the shadow-woman had always held herself above those creatures. While they merely feasted on lingering mortality, the shadow-woman went for the ultimate prize. She began to smile as she pulled away from the girl's windpipe, feeling the force of her dying energy. She was not dead yet, but she soon would be. The skin where the shadow-woman touched began to bubble as if boiling, and an orb of bright blue passed through the milky flesh.

Dropping the girl onto the floor and rising to her feet, the shadow-woman took a gentle hold to the delicate and powerful Gem. Voices no more than gurgles to the woman came from below, and she smirked at the fear-turned-confusion.

_Mortals are so easy…_

It would not be long before a Sparrik came, with the girl so close to death, so the woman held her left hand over the girl's heart, fingers outstretched. She set down the Gem and placed her other hand onto the crown of the girl's head, pressing down firmly. A bit of rose pink light shone from within the pupils of those half-lidded eyes, barely noticeable. The same light lit up at the crown of her head, then over her heart, the light beginning to rise into a single orb above her mouth. Breathing deeply, the shadow-woman kept herself steady, staring at the light as her lips pressed tightly together. It was as the light began to rise towards her own mouth that the woman was suddenly knocked aside by an unseen force, the light shooting back into the girl as the Gem disappeared in a blur of black, white, and brown.

Eyes snapping open, the shadow-woman could only watch as two cloaked figures exited, one with the still-unconscious girl and one with the Gem. They wore cloaks the color of a moonless night, only blurs as they leaped out of the window, the girl's head hitting the edge of the window with tremendous force. Pushing herself up, the shadow-woman's body melted and zipped out the window, her head now a point, and as she caught up with the blurs, she morphed back into herself, wings jutting out through her hair over her back, flapping hard so she could gain as much speed as she could. The two figures leapt from roof to roof, and some blood smeared the side of one building as the one holding the girl jumped down into an alley. The other followed her close behind, and the woman saw that their hoods had fallen off of their heads.

Landing in the alley, the shadow-woman blocked the only way out of the dead end, one of the figures turning to look at her in terror. She was a woman that looked to be nearing her twenties, skin pale as ivory. Her tired eyes were red as blood, and her lips parted, showing her long fangs. The man next to her was equally pale with the same color eyes, and he was maybe a year or so older than the woman.

Under their cloaks, the woman wore an ebony dress that brushed the ground, a slit going up her right leg. The man wore a dark, long-sleeved shirt and onyx pants, boots donning his feet. He clasped the Gem in both hands, and he took a step in front of the woman protectively. They both also wore golden necklaces with matching disks lying over their collar bones. On both disks were etchings: the man's was A2, and the woman was C6.

"Do not harm this child!" cried the woman, tears threatening to leak from her large eyes. Her shoulder length, golden-brown hair blew about her face, and she seemed to be breathing deeply.

Sneering, the shadow-woman looked over the girl's battered form: her right forearm and part of her right leg were completely burned away; the nightgown had burned and fallen off, revealing her flushed and blistered torso; her neck was bent at an impossible angle; there was a gash that dug into her skull and exposed a bit of brain; part of her face had been grated away, revealing bone as blood ran down her neck; and the skin on her right shoulder was mostly gone.

"You know not your own strength, Notte," she growled, looking back up at C6. "You have ruined her for me." She could not take the soul of one that was already dead.

Her eyes flickered over towards A2. "Give me the Gem of Passage."

"You will have to kill me for it." His words were more confident than the woman's, and he even took a bold step forward, chest puffed out. He wore a deep, resentful sneer.

Tilting her head playfully, the shadow-woman grinned. "So be it, Notte." She kicked off the ground and spread her wings, hurtling herself towards A2. That was when C6 made her escape, but before A2 could even try, the shadow-woman grabbed a fistful of his cloak and used it to swing him around, forcing him into one of the walls. The Gem fell away from his grasp, and the shadow-woman dove after it.

Swearing in a different language, A2 rammed himself into her side and snatched up the Gem. Unclasping his cloak, he darted away, and the shadow-woman glowered after him, her nails scraping at the ground. Swearing heavily, she disappeared.

**xxx**

"Mew."

Alex awoke to see Gatobella sitting next to her head, watching her. Gatobella's pale blue-violet eyes unnerved her sometimes, but Alex was glad to see a familiar face—even if it was a feline one. Alex scratched Gatobella's head and stared at the ceiling. C6 and A2 had looked so familiar. And what was a Notte? They had looked to be like some breed of vampires. Alex decided to ask Juliette about it later.

Groaning, Alex pushed herself up into a sitting position, causing Gatobella to jump off of the bed. Alex paused, wondering how she had gotten up there in the first place. Last she remembered, she was on the floor. Did she sleepwalk? Alex didn't think so. Besides the dream, it had not resembled sleep at all.

With sleep, she just seems to gently drift off. What had just happened, however, was more like a pull, like she was suddenly swept into a riptide. One second she was awake, the next she was watching a horrible scene unfold. Waking up was jarring, and she felt disoriented for a minute or so afterwards.

"Alex!" came her mom's call from downstairs. "Juliette will be here soon! Get down here!"

Looking over at the clock by her bed, Alex saw that it was just after six o'clock. She had only been out for a couple of minutes at most. She took a deep breath and went downstairs, not wanting to think about her mysterious fainting spell any longer. Gatobella followed her into the kitchen, where Dragon sat next to Max, a red bowtie on his black collar. Upon reaching the foot of the stairs, Alex saw Justin emerge from the washroom, wearing a tuxedo and holding a silver candelabrum. Everyone looked his way questionably; even Gatobella and Dragon tilted their heads in question.

"What?" asked Justin. "Too much?

"No," Theresa tried to assure. "You look great, sweetie."

"Oh, is Justin going to be our waiter?" Alex retorted as she stole a bite from the mashed potatoes. She also tasted a bit of paint on her finger, but she fought the urge to spit it out.

Alex knew she looked greatly underdressed: denim skirt with a few dots of paint staining the fabric; grey top with a black, dead tree that had its trunk morph into a snake where the roots should be; and a large, button-up shirt over it that Alex used like an apron. On the back of it was a large _A_ for Alex inside of a circle. Justin had told her that it looked more like the symbol for anarchy, but Alex did not really care. She did not really know what the word meant anyway. It was only recently she bothered to look it up, and the idea of no rules or government appealed to her. Her mother and father tried to explain why they didn't agree with it, but Alex had learned how to tune them out long ago.

"Nice quip from the hobo in our kitchen," Justin returned. He sat down the candelabrum onto the kitchen island.

"Alex, go change," Jerry requested.

"Fine." Alex headed back upstairs, tore off her clothes, and quickly put on a long-sleeved, plum-colored blouse with a swooped neckline. She then changed into dark wash jeans, but she kept her hair up in the high, off-center ponytail. She also put on her splatter-paint high-tops instead of wearing the high heeled shoes her mom had gotten her not long ago. Just because she had to dress nicely, she did not have to dress as if she were having tea with the queen.

As soon as Alex got downstairs, the bell rang, and she saw that her dad was being immature as usual when he wanted to embarrass his kids. His shirt was up, so Alex guessed that he was talking about the appendix scar he never actually had. He'd tried the same gag the first (and last) time Alex had brought a boyfriend over. Justin had quickly turned away from Jerry and was a foot away from the door. He stopped, muscles tense.

"Dad, I'm not going to get the door until you put your shirt down!" Justin whispered harshly.

With a mock pout, Jerry obeyed, and Justin opened the door, revealing Juliette. Snowflakes dusted her loose, blonde curls, and she wore a long, grey sweater coat that fell to her ankles. She wore faux-fur-lined white boots that hugged her calves, and when Justin helped her out of the coat, her soft pink blouse and pleated, white skirt were revealed. Around her neck was a thin, golden chain with a matching disk lying just below her collar bone.

On the disk was a design. It looked as in bronze wire had been bent and woven before being melded into the gold to make a pop-up design. It looked like vines weaving in and out of each other over the metal, silver dots like flowers blooming. Through it, Alex vaguely saw an etching of two characters into the gold: C6.

Alex blinked, hoping the etching would disappear. It didn't. Had she seen the necklace before? Is that why it was in her dream? There's no way otherwise. Or maybe Alex was just now fitting it into her dream, like some people did with faces, making it seem like they saw a person in a dream that ended up being important in real life.

Alex didn't think so—the dream had been _much_ too vivid for that to happen.

"_Bonsoir, ma Juliette. Tu est trés belle_." Justin kissed Juliette's hand, and she got that smile she always got when Justin did something dorky she tended to find charming.

Color came to her cheeks, and Alex got a puzzled look. Juliette was dead. How could she blush? Come to think of it, how would she _eat_?

"Aw…" Theresa placed a hand over her heart, clearly finding this romantic. Jerry just gave a polite smile, Max rolled his eyes, and Alex would have gagged, but some things bothered her and called for immediate attention.

Ruining the moment, Dragon barked, spewing fire towards Juliette. She yelped and hid behind Justin, who was just as surprised as she was.

"Dragon! No!" he scolded, taking the pet by his collar. "I'm taking you to your kennel so you can think about what you did."

Max and Alex burst into laughter, and, after getting over the shock of what had just happened, Theresa yelled at them, telling them to settle down. Jerry tried to back her up, but he was laughing a bit as well and ruined the effect. Even Gatobella was on her back at Alex's feet, purring like crazy. Settling down, Alex scooped her up, and Justin left the room with Dragon.

"We're sorry, Juliette," Theresa stated sincerely. "Dragon is a dragon charmed to look like a dog, and Justin's still trying to train him not to breathe fire at strangers."

Calming herself, Juliette replied, "That's alright. It just surprised me, and I've never really liked fire much." She looked over at Alex cradling the large cat. "Is that in disguise too?"

Gently scratching behind Gatobella's ears, Alex responded, "This is Basilisk."

Gatobella stopped purring and looked up at Alex with a look that made it seem as if she were saying, "Why would anyone think someone as cute as me could really be an ugly, killing beast?"

"That's Gatobella," Theresa said quickly. "Jerry and I got her for Alex's sixteenth birthday not long ago. She's very sweet."

"Except for when you give her a bath in orange soda," Max pointed out. He had the look on his face he normally gets when he realizes that his idea probably was not very smart. Alex used to enjoy seeing Justin or her mom get nervous when Max got that look on his face.

"You did _what_?!" Theresa and Alex shouted in unison. Alex held Gatobella more tightly, and the cat glared at Max, who shrugged as if to say, "What'd I do?"

"Alright, let's eat." Justin came back into the room and escorted Juliette to the table. He pulled the chair back for her, and when she sat down, he pushed her in. Juliette offered him a thankful smile, and Justin smiled back as he went to sit next to her.

The others sat down, and Alex placed Gatobella back onto the floor. As everyone placed food onto their plates, Alex asked Juliette, "Cool necklace. Where'd you get it?" She smiled sweetly, knowing that a suspicious voice would rouse unwanted attention. She did not really want to share her last two dreams, which freaked her out to be truthful.

"It's my mom's. She's had it for centuries. I added on the vines and flowers when we worked in a jewelry shop. My mom decided she wanted to make jewelry when we were in Spain, but we only stayed at that city for a couple of years. I enjoyed it, but I guess a sandwich shop is okay too." Juliette gave a lopsided smile.

"Did you get to travel to a bunch of different countries?" Theresa inquired. "I think the farthest I've ever been was the Bahamas. Other than that, I haven't gotten the chance to travel."

"Yes," Juliette answered, eating her salad. She did not put any dressing on it, and it seemed to be all she was eating except for a scoop of green bean casserole. "I first lived in England, but I then went to Estonia, when it was still under Swedish rule. We then moved to Spain about ten years before Estonia was ceded to the Russian Empire. We stayed there for a few decades, making sure not to stay in one place for too long. We later moved to France, but when I began to feel homesick, we went back to England.

"It had been long enough to where anyone who had known me before was gone, so it was safe. Unfortunately, the Seven Years War had begun. My parents and I did not want to be caught up in any conflicts, especially after the War of the League of Augsburg, the War of the Spanish Succession, and the War of the Austrian Succession, so we thought about going to the New World, arriving in Virginia around the late eighteen-hundreds, or early nineteen-hundreds. Until then, we mostly lived in different countries in Europe."

Max looked confused, probably having no idea about anything Juliette had said. Alex did not have much of a clue either. She had not even known that there was a country called Estonia. She did not feel like learning stuff at dinner, so Alex just shoveled food into her mouth.

"Ten years before Russia gained rule of Estonia…" The gears in Justin's head were turning. "So that was about seventeen-eleven. I'm getting warmer." Justin said the last sentence in a sing-song voice, his lips turned up in a goofy grin.

This made Alex roll her eyes as she stuffed her mouth full of mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.

"Justin," Juliette giggled, "you've got to stop trying to guess how old I am. I promise, it's not as impressive as you probably think." She finished her salad and took a bite of her green bean casserole. She then looked up, and looked over at Alex's ponytail. "Alex, is that paint in your hair?"

"Huh?" Alex set down her fork and reached back to feel her ponytail. Sure enough, there was dried paint that had glued a bundle of strands together. "Uh, that must have happened when I fell." She would not mention passing out—it'd arouse too many questions. "I was painting a picture of this little girl I saw in a dream I had during history class."

"You fell asleep in history class?" Jerry stopped eating his chicken and looked over at Alex disapprovingly. "You're one-and-a-half years from graduating. You need to try harder, young lady."

Alex knew that her dad still thought that going into the Air Force would be good for Alex, but as soon as she heard that she would have to suffer through tons of exercise _as well_ as go through more school, Alex was out. So college was her only chance from having a moderate life at the least. If she could get in, that was.

"It was just the Louisiana Purchase. It's not like I'll need to know it. It already happened." Alex took another big bite of her dinner and chased it down with ginger ale. "It's not like it won't make a difference if I don't know it."

"I'd like to see your painting, Alex." Juliette seemed a bit uncomfortable with Alex having trashed her favorite subject (of course it'd be her favorite when she'd lived through much of it), but she forced a friendly smile, not wanting to say anything and disrupt the fragile peace.

Swallowing the last bit of her food, Alex got up. "Sure. Let's go." She headed towards the stairs, and Juliette quickly got up to follow. Gatobella also got down from the couch and scampered after Alex and Juliette. Justin was soon behind them as well. Alex guessed he didn't really like the idea of Alex and Juliette hanging out together without him—they may start trading embarrassing stories.

"Alex!" Theresa called.

"We'll be right back." Alex kept going, not bothering to look back. As they approached her room, Alex informed, "It's not done yet. So far, I only have the back ground and most of the face done. It's also not exactly a happy picture. Don't worry, though. I painted her before her hand and foot burned away." Alex tried to put a light laugh on her voice, but she ended up sounding somber more than anything.

"Mew."

Juliette began to giggle at Gatobella's meow, but upon entering Alex's room, her smile dropped. She stared at the sixteen-by-twenty canvas, barely breathing. "You saw _her_ in your dream?" Her voice sounded forced, as if she barely had enough air in her lungs to say those words.

"Yeah, why?" Alex noticed Juliette's disbelief and… fear? It was as if she were remembering things she had tried to banish from her mind. It confused Alex. Why would the painting upset Juliette so much?

"What's wrong?" asked Justin. He placed his hands on Juliette's shoulders, steadying her. "Does the painting remind you of someone?"

Pale and visibly shaking, Juliette nodded, choking out, "Yeah. That's me. From sixteen-sixty-seven."


	3. Six of Cups

**Chapter 3: Six of Cups**

"_Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion." - Vincent van Gogh_

Looking into her glassy eyes, Alex saw the entire ordeal once again, but from Juliette's point of view this time. She tore herself away as soon as she met those quicksilver eyes, her heart feeling as if it would freeze over. Juliette shuddered at that same image, and Justin held her close to him, trying to give her comfort. He did not know what was wrong, but he knew that Juliette was upset. That was all he needed to know, and he brought her head gently over to where her small chin rested on his broad shoulder. She whimpered slightly as she clutched his shirt, tears threatening to break. Her heart was heavy, and her throat grew sore, and Justin could nearly feel her pain as he kept her close to him, eyes closing as he wrapped one arm around her narrow waist, left hand stroking the back of her head.

Watching with shimmering eyes, Alex did not feel like gagging for once. She felt envious.

Alex may not have gone through what Juliette had, but Juliette had someone to hold her close as their heartbeats became one. She had someone to whisper comforting words into her ear and tell her it would all be okay. She had someone to wipe her tears away with kisses. Dean had never done any of that. Alex knew he had a sensitive side after visiting his dreams that one time, but Alex wanted comfort at that moment. The only one who offered, however, was Gatobella, who rubbed against her leg sympathetically. (Could cats be sympathetic?)

Blinking back tears, Alex glanced over at the painting again and in a new light. She wished the painting would move back into the darkness, but it was too late. She had now seen its true form. It would no longer allow her to see it as an anonymous casualty. It was part of her life. It was part of her brother's life. It _was_ Juliette's life. This, Alex could not forget even if she wanted to. Still, she fought to forget. It had to be a mistake. There was just no way.

"But she doesn't really look much like you. I know appearances change, but…" She hated to open Juliette's wound even more, but that part of it just did not add up. If it didn't add up, then maybe it wasn't really true. Alex clung onto this bit of hope.

"Alex," Justin softly hissed, eyes only half-open as he glared at her. The stern look was enough to make Alex wince in her state, and she quickly averted his gaze.

Coughing, Juliette gently pushed herself away from her boyfriend. "No, no… I-it's okay."

She began to stagger over to the bed, Justin quickly helping to keep her steady. He draped one of her arms around her neck, descending with her onto Alex's soft mattress. Juliette moved away the oil pastel picture of the fire and woman; the way she flipped it away to the other end of the bed made it look like it had felt like acid to her. Her eyes were unblinking and distant as she relived that day over and over, pupils dilating slightly before just becoming smaller again. She opened her mouth to speak, but she just closed it again and attempted to swallow. It wasn't after the third try she was able to speak again, pupils the size of pinpricks.

"The fire burned away part of my lower leg as well as my hand. I had horrible burns all over the rest of my body, and even my hair had burned some. When my mom rescued me, she accidentally hit my head on the wall next to the window. The force from the speed snapped my neck and cracked my skull. I had a broken back and collar bone. I also had broken ribs and nose. And my face…"

She swallowed again and finally blinked, eyelids fluttering rapidly before they finally slid over her eyes. She took a slow, deep breath before continuing: "My face had to be completely repaired. They… brought me back… and told me what had happened." Juliette took a deep breath. It shuttered, and she jumped and looked down at Gatobella, who had begun to rub her head against her shin. The faintest of smiles then touched the vampire's lips. "Most animals won't come near me. Self-preservation instinct I guess…"

_Just don't bite her_. Alex knew not to say this. She hadn't even wanted to _think_ it, but it was reflex.

It was easy to see how Juliette's ghost of a smile did not match her tawny-brown eyes. She was trying to be happy, but in her mind, she was still reliving that horrible day. It was like some sadist kept pressing the "replay" button in her mind, and it made the young wizard feel ill.

"Guess Gatobella is smart enough to see how sweet you are." Justin's lips brushed Juliette's flushed cheek, and Alex knew he saw that Juliette was still hurting. He just wanted to do whatever it was he could to make her feel better. Again, Alex felt a tinge of envy.

"Thank you." Juliette leaned in, and she and Justin did that nose-kiss thing that normally made Alex roll her eyes. Now, however, she only felt uncomfortable—like she was invading their private moment.

Wanting to at least give them some sort of privacy, Alex turned her head back to the painting. The girl was crying again. Those haunting eyes flashed through her mind, and she shivered.

The room began to spin, and Alex vaguely heard Justin ask if she was alright. She managed to shake her head as the vicious crackling of fire filled her ears, causing her head to pound, the pain growing worse with each and every pulse. There was a high-pitched scream, and Alex could no longer stand the pain. As soon as the scream penetrated her mind, Alex grabbed the sides of her head, nails digging into her scalp, and fell to her knees.

Justin and Juliette rushed to her sides, but she could barely notice. The heat rose and prickled her skin. The prickling soon morphed into excruciating agony, and the fire's war song began. It sounded much more vicious and terrifying than from her dream. The flames danced, cheering to the music that let them know another victim was within their midst. Finally, she screamed, the pitch high and volume loud as she tried to overpower the treacherous symphony. The instruments refused to be outdone, and the scream soon lost strength and turned into sobs and she shifting faces created by shadow and smoke laughed and leered.

There was no telling how long all of this lasted; time was distorted as Alex fell onto her back and began to seize as she fought the images pressing themselves into her mind. She felt the pull of another dream, but Alex refused to go. It seemed these dreams had their own ideas, however, and would not take "No" as an acceptable answer.

Pain shot through her head and down her spine, and Alex was only vaguely aware of two people by her side as she muscles convulsed and her eyes rolled back. She could no longer breathe, and her mouth flew wide open to try and capture at least a morsel of air. She was denied the need and soon began to see pixels of darkness dot the light. The darkness grew, engulfing her.

Finally, her body went still as she succumbed to the dream.

**xxx**

Fighting against the dream ended up beneficial. She could now tell what was going on, like a lucid dream, yet she still had no control over anything. She was merely an observer, positioned away from the characters as if watching them from a seat in the movie theatre. She could only see what the camera allowed her to—what her mind apparently deemed important.

Standing what seemed like mere feet in front of her was the demonic woman, her body now much more tangible. Her features were more defined, making her seem more human, but her long hair hid much of her face and body from Alex's profile view of her. The darkness of the setting obscured her all the more. It looked like she was deep within a large tunnel of some cave, and she was looking down at a large, deep blue orb being held up by what looked like an oddly-shaped stalagmite. It jutted out from the floor and was slightly crooked and scraggly-looking as if the sculptor had had a shaky hand, but near the top came three spikes going out and curved around the orb like talons.

Other than the woman and the orb, the cave was mostly bare, and it was cold. It only felt to be as cold as the loft in winter when Jerry refused to waste money with the heater (he only used it when company was coming). Still, this chill made Alex's heart beat harder as she watched the scene. Could temperature have weight? Alex could have sworn she was feeling it press against her body like two walls of cooled iron closing in on her. She shivered, but her movements felt restricted.

Claustrophobia began to trickle into her, but the teen firmly squashed it, knowing that the dream already had a firm grip on her. She couldn't leave, so she might as well just watch what her subconscious or whatever it was wanted to show her.

"You let someone take the Gem of Passage."

The voice came from the orb. With each syllable, the core lit up in pale blue light. The voice was low and stern, but it wasn't exactly harsh. It did not yell, and there was no rage from what Alex could hear. It was merely stating a fact. That was probably what made it so spine-chilling.

"Yes, I did."

Alex could feel the chills shooting down the woman's spine and the anxiety that wrapped around her core. Yet, her words were nonchalant. She tucked a lock of hair behind a sharply pointed ear. Her hair cascaded down to her calves like a waterfall veiled by night. Alex guessed it to be either black or dark brown. There was also a single streak of light-colored strands that stood out, greatly contrasting against the dark locks.

"And worst of all, it is now in the hands of a Notte—a human's abomination." A touch of anger stained the voice, but it seemed to still have a calm air about it.

The woman swallowed, a trickle of nervousness finally breaking through her cool surface. "According to my visions, which you have so graciously bestowed upon me, there will be great imbalance within Mzrisknu in a few mere centuries. The imbalance will cause the Seven Gems to migrate towards one another. All we will need to do is set free our Gem and let it lead us to the other six so we can grab them all!" The woman's confidence grew with each of her words, and she straightened her spine, clearly enjoying the rewards her plan would give if it succeeded.

"Are you suggesting we let go of our only Gem?" The voice seemed to like the idea but was more cautious than the woman. "What of the Purities? What of the Guardians? The Einharuns?"

"Hades and Seannah can take care of the Guardians' attention, and Avalon is still in ruins. Not to mention those two girls who will end up causing us to have Laya, Einharun of Tilanokoi, in just a couple of centuries. They will keep the Purities busy for some time. Just think about the possibility, my Lord." Alex could almost see the smirk on her face.

"Very well, Seraphina. You are dismissed."

Seraphina bowed respectfully and left. Alex found herself following her down the cave-like tunnel that soon went into a steady incline. The tunnel led to a doorway, marking the entrance to some sort of large room. It was dimly lit and had high ceilings. The walls and floor were made from stones the color of clay Alex used when experimenting with sculpture. There were a number of people and creatures moving about, but Alex only saw them out of the corner of her eye. A few gave nods of the recognition to Seraphina, but the majority seemed to ignore her and everyone else.

Alex could only follow behind, seeing finally that the woman's hair was black, and the streak was ice blue, nearly white. However, Alex wanted to be able to see what she looked like.

Well, she did and didn't. A part of her was just fine with only looking at her from behind. It meant she could avoid those soulless eyes still haunting her memory.

The place looked to be the interior of a castle in medieval times, and Seraphina turned down a wide corridor littered with shadows. One twisted unnaturally and flew into Seraphina's path. She stopped, but her posture made her seem more bored than surprised. "I am _not_ in the mood, Atol."

The shadow coalesced into a man, his thin lips in a smirk. "Not last night, not tonight… how long are you going to keep me waiting?" His voice held mock hurt, and the first few words were carried by a small sigh as he smiled as if sharing a joke. Silent at first, Seraphina was probably smiling as well, though probably just momentarily.

Seraphina partly blocked Alex's view of Atol, but she could see that he wore a deep red cloak with the hood up. His face was not shadowed too much, but Alex could not see the color of his hair. His eyes were bright amber, and his skin had a light, healthy tan that came from hours in the sun. There was a sly gleam in his almond-shaped eyes that reminded Alex of a fox, and he stood at about the same height as Seraphina, his posture showing confidence and a demand for respect. Seraphina, though, did not seem to find any need to obey that command. She seemed to be one who would only obey another if it benefitted _her_.

"We have much work to be done," said Seraphina in a serious tone. "I bought us some time with Set, but we will need to start soon." She walked around Atol and headed down the corridor.

Atol followed and informed, "There are not many willing to follow our lead, but that does not surprise me—most of these old bastards _hate_ change." Atol's voice carried censure.

"Those close to Set do not wish to give up their immortality for a greater cause. Same for those Outters. Those idiots would much rather protect the possibility of becoming immortal than face the cold reality of being pawns."

Seraphina whirled about suddenly at a wooden door. Her face could now be seen, and Alex was dumbfounded. Seraphina's skin was much darker, making Alex wonder if she was of African descent; her eyes were the wrong color; her face was more mature, with full lips and long lashes; and she had a more athletic build. Yet, there was no mistaking it: She looked like Alex.

"How can we expect to pull this off without help?" asked Atol. "Without followers, we're just a couple of rebel Zolak-gais."

Opening the door, Seraphina faced Atol. Alex saw the resemblance between her and the killer even more. "Words say nothing. Actions say everything. We go along with it as planned. This is important, Atol." She kissed him on the lips lightly and walked into the room.

Holding the door open, Atol inquired, "Have you contacted Ivan?"

The demoness took a step out and led him into the room. "I leave to see him tomorrow night. I will ask for twenty warriors as well as the spies already in place here."

"Will that be enough?"

Smiling sweetly—the first shred of kindness Alex had seen from her—Seraphina kissed Atol again, more passionately this time. "Plenty."

**xxx**

Gurgled words spun around Alex as she was slammed back into consciousness. She heard what sounded like her name, and she thought she heard Justin ask something along the lines of "Are you alright?"

Alex wanted to shout, "No! There was a fire, a scream, and that killer looks just like _me_!" but her tongue lay laden in her mouth.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the relieved faces of Justin, Juliette, Max, her mom, and her dad. She was on her bed, Gatobella next to her head, watching with what could be interpreted as concern. Alex's head throbbed, and her ears still rung. Seraphina's face stained her mind. It had to have been right after Juliette's attack, which meant it was hundreds of years in the past.

So if she was Alex, why was she older? Seraphina had looked to be in her early to mid-twenties. Alex vaguely remembered something Harper had told her: "There's this theory that says everyone has a doppelgänger in a different era. I wonder if mine was royalty or something."

Was that possible? Was Seraphina just a doppelgänger? She could _not_ have been Alex. She had been born in 1992. 1667 was _long_ before that. Alex nodded slightly to herself, needing some sort of physical assurance that it was a coincidence. Her neck was stiff, and she found herself being gently pulled up into a sitting position.

"Oh, sweetie." Theresa hugged Alex tightly, sounding like she had been extremely worried. "What happened?"

Ignoring the question, Alex inquired, "How long was I out?" Alex's voice was emotionless—almost robotic. There were just so many questions spinning through Alex's mind, making her dizzy. What was a Notte? Who were Seraphina and Atol? How could they turn into shadows? Who was Set? What were Seraphina and Atol planning? Who was Ivan? What warriors? What spies?

"Just a couple of minutes," Justin answered. "Are you alright?"

Alex knew that he did not normally ask her that unless he was truly worried about her. Screaming and passing out tended to cause worry, but Alex was starting to feel a little claustrophobic with everyone crowded around her. Her bed was also starting to feel uncomfortable. She wanted to be back on the floor. She guessed that her dad had moved her, which explained his slightly hunched back—Alex was heavier now than when she was six and demanding piggy-back rides.

"I think so," Alex lied. She looked over at Juliette, who no longer looked so terrified and sorrowful. "Um…" Alex stopped, not sure how to move on.

How would she ask Juliette about Nottes, Zolak-gais, Seraphina, and Atol in front of her family? At the very least, her family would think she was a nutcase. That would be alright. Everyone in her family was a nutcase anyway. However, at the most, Juliette would know what she was talking about and give Alex an answer she did not want.

Alex wasn't sure if she could handle that. So she just looked back at her mom and dad, and she softly told them, "I'm feeling pretty tired."

"Oh, okay," said Jerry. He got up and cracked his back. "Good night."

"Good night, sweetie." Theresa gave Alex another hug before allowing her to lie down. Everyone left, bidding Alex goodnight. Only Gatobella stayed, watching Alex as she closed her eyes, praying for a dreamless sleep.


	4. Judgement

**Chapter 4: Judgment**

"_If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning." - Frederick Douglass_

After school ended the next day, Alex headed over to the room Harper had specified to get to Book Club. She was taking her sweet time walking over to the other end of the school, and there had been three times she paused or turned around before finally deciding to keep going, _Charmed and Dangerous: The Castle, the Wand, and the Professor_ held over her stomach by her left forearm. It was one of the thicker books, and it was the eighth in the series (though the series wasn't strictly sequential), telling the tale of how Aaron was accepted into Wiz-prep while Julia was forced to attend, her parents hoping she'd learn some respect and responsibility. Alex knew the plot well, seeing as she had lived it, but H. J. Darling often changed a few things to further dramatize the situations as well as give it better flow—creative license Darling called it when Alex had visited her last time.

As she walked down the hall, it seemed more and more deserted with students leaving for home or to meet up with friends. Talks of class, homework, essays, exams, and projects filled the emptying hallway, the occasional talk of parties and upcoming vacations also making their way into the mix. Alex caught a Korean girl—a senior, Alex noticed, remembering her from one of Justin's clubs—talking about how she had gotten acceptance letters to Columbia University, Bard College, and the University of Vermont. She was apparently considering the final one to get away from home, and Alex found herself scowling at that.

She hadn't even _started_ her applications. She hadn't even started choosing where she wanted to _go_. She'd figured she had a whole other year, but it was nearing the end of the first semester, and this girl was already accepted into three colleges?

Alex still didn't know where she'd want to go. A Liberal Arts college sounded best, but that was probably just because of the 'art' part. Alex didn't really know what 'liberal' meant aside from it usually being used to describe someone's political stance. She knew it was the opposite of conservative, but that was about it. These questions about college and careers kept spinning through Alex's mind, and she figured she might ask Mrs. Carson, her art teacher, about it. She was pretty cool, as teachers went, and she'd probably be able to give Alex some good choices.

While thinking, the Latina finally arrived at the classroom, and she shook her head of the troublesome thoughts as she pushed open the door. As soon as she stepped in, all conversation ceased, and the eyes of all eleven students and the advisor fell on Alex. She recognized the majority of the people, but she still felt self-conscious under their eyes, especially seeing as many of them did not even bother to conceal their shock.

"Miss Russo?" Mrs. Gray was one of those people, and her small, round glasses slipped down the bridge of her hawk-like nose as her storm-grey eyes widened.

"Don't worry," Alex quickly assured, "I'm not lost or here to play pranks on anyone. I need to join a club, and I was hoping that I could try out Book Club." She muttered the last few words, but she cleared her throat and held up the novel. "I brought _The Castle, the Wand, and the Professor_ if anyone's interested."

Mrs. Gray still seemed fairly skeptical, but she motioned towards an empty desk. "Well, alright. You are welcome to join. We just finished _Wuthering Heights_ and were actually just about to propose a new book to read. Now, Monica here"—she motioned towards the girl with dark, umber skin and black hair pulled back into numerous braids standing in front of the dry-erase board—"is the president of the club. Jason"—she motioned towards the boy with pale skin and sand-colored hair sitting up front—"is our vice president. Nellie"—she motioned towards the Latina Alex had known since second grade, a pen in her left hand and a half-filled notebook on her desk—"is our secretary, and I act as the advisor as well as the treasurer."

"You can go ahead and make a motion for your book now if you like," offered Monica in a bubbly voice. Her friendly eyes watched Alex from behind rectangular glasses, and Alex thought she recognized her as the one who had made several speeches at assemblies in the past.

"Make a what?" Alex didn't really know what that meant. She'd never really attended any real club meetings before. The closest thing to a club was the giant cardboard box she and Harper had played in when they were five.

"It means you—" Mrs. Gray was interrupted by a girl bursting into the room. She looked a little out of breath as if she had been running, and she leaned against the door frame for support. Alex had been keeping the door open with her shoulder as if ready to leave at any time.

"I am sorry that I am late, _Dėstytojas_ Gray. I must have mixed up numbers and get lost. I am hoping to join club." The girl began to dig through her tote bag, which looked familiar to Alex. Where had she seen this girl before?

The girl with a willowy frame brought out a paperback book, the cover looking like a giant blue eye staring at everyone. The title read, _1984_. "I heard new people recommend books to read."

Her accent was rough in some places, but in others, her words seemed to flow fairly well. It sounded as if she were having trouble speaking English, and Alex wondered how she would be able to read the books if she did not know the language well.

Looking the girl over, Alex finally recognized her from her classes (well, the classes she bothered going to).

Her name was Svajonė, though she went by Joan—easier for everyone to pronounce. She had moved to New York recently, and had been taking extra classes to learn English. Alex only knew that seeing as both Justin and Harper helped out with tutoring in the school, and neither one hardly ever shut up about it.

Using the doorframe to keep herself upright was the only time Alex could think of the girl not standing with an erect spine as if balancing a book atop her head. Her waist length, deep red hair was currently kept back in a loose braid, the tips barely brushing along the small of her back. Like always, she only wore a simple, long sleeved shirt and jeans that looked a size or so too big for her lithe frame.

"Oh, that's alright Joan. Come on in." Mrs. Gray waited until both Joan and Alex took a seat before stating, "Well, now we have two book suggestions. Monica?"

The Book Club president stood taller and looked out into the crowd of twelve and cleared her throat. "Okay, I say we take a vote. All in favor for _The Castle, the Wand, and the Professor_ say 'Aye'."

_Aye?_ thought Alex questionably as four people raised their hands and declared, "Aye!"

Alex quickly raised her hand to vote for it as well.

After writing the number of hands on the board with a red marker, Monica then went on. "And all in favor for _Nineteen-Eighty-Four_ say 'Aye'."

"Aye!" The rest of the club stuck their hands into the air as this was proclaimed, and Alex stuck the book she had borrowed from Harper back into her backpack. She shot Joan a look of distain, but the girl merely smiled pleasantly, her deep-set eyes guileless. They were shadowed by her long fringe bangs, making it hard to judge what color they were unless she were to lean in close.

Clapping once, Monica told Joan, "Okay, today, we are finishing our discussion on _The Idiot_, but we can start the next one at our meeting next week. Mrs. Gray normally gets the books from the literary department if they are available, and I'm sure they have _Nineteen-Eighty-Four_."

"Alright," Joan replied, "but may I ask if I may read my copy? It is in Lithuanian, and since I am still learning English…"

"That's alright," assured Monica. "Now…"

Alex pretty much tuned out, seeing as she had not read _Wuthering Heights_, and she was not exactly excited to learn about it either. She heard a few discussions on the themes, as well as an argument, but Monica and Mrs. Gray soon got it under control. That was when Alex looked over and recognized Sierra Thompson, who was one of the few conservatives in Mr. Garcia's AP Government class and had earned the nickname "Heartless Bitch" after a few weeks of school starting back in September. She sometimes seemed to wear that name like a badge of honor, but, other times, she only grew angry, threatening whoever called her by that name—though this was only if the name was spat at her or said with ire.

The rest of Mr. Garcia's class was much more liberal in their political views, and the two groups got into a heated discussion about Guantánamo. Alex had had no idea what that was (she still didn't), but she remembered hearing the debate from her history class across the hallway. Mrs. Cannon had stopped her lecture so that everyone could listen to a few of the exchanges. Alex hadn't really listened. How did any of it affect her?

"Hello?"

Alex jumped slightly, realizing at Joan had been whispering to her as the others discussed their book. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?" Alex did not necessarily want to speak to Joan. Because of her, Alex was going to be forced to read a book that looked absolutely boring.

Who would use numbers for a title? To Alex, that said it was about math. She knew it was a date, but history was just as bad a math. She wanted adventure and suspense. She didn't want to read a history lesson. Wasn't one hour of class a day bad enough?

"I ask you if the book sound interesting," Joan lightly repeated with her thin lips in a soft smile Alex could not stand to stay angry at. Her face softened as she gave an answer.

"Not really to tell the truth."

Joan took on a look of surprise. "You find no interest in book that tell future where your life is watched by government called 'Big Brother'? What about man writing down rebel thoughts, even though he could be killed by Thought Police? Or having affair with woman he is not allowed to have relationship with?"

"Thought Police?" Alex was getting intrigued, and Joan smiled again.

The two began to speak quietly, making sure not to disturb the others. Alex was starting to think that Joan was pretty cool, even though she had to pause every now and then to remember the English word or phrase for what she is speaking about. Her grammar was not always too hot either, but Alex figured that Joan would probably do better on a test than she would—sad, but true.

**xxx**

"One Italian sub and a tuna fish on wheat!" Alex shouted into the kitchen as Harper ran up the stairs with her and Alex's backpacks. Alex began to wonder if Harper would catch on to this usual ruse and stop starting on her homework for her. Alex shook away the thought, knowing that Harper would not catch onto it. Plus, Alex didn't really care too much. She didn't even go to two of those classes—three if she was able to sleep in.

"Got it!" Jerry called back.

Sitting on one of the bar stools, Alex caught Juliette and Justin snuggling in one of the booths with two hot chocolates and a piece of coffee cake on the table in front of them. It was sunny outside for once that winter, and Juliette was wearing a long sweater coat with the hood up. They also had the shade down over the window beside them to cut back on Juliette's discomfort. Alex wondered why Juliette and her family had moved here. Why not somewhere that's almost always cloudy or something? Why risk being somewhere where they could get caught in the sun? Alex began to think about her questions again when her dad exited the kitchen.

"One Italian sub and a tuna fish on wheat," he announced, causing people to look up from their food and menus.

Getting up, Alex quickly went up to him. "I got it, Daddy," she assured, taking the tray.

"Thank you, Alex." Jerry gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead, and as soon as he went back into the kitchen, Alex quickly made her way up the stairs. Max was working on some weird contraption at the kitchen island, but Alex paid no mind to it as she went into her room, finding Harper laughing and Gatobella lying over Alex's text book.

"What's going on?" Alex set the tray on her bed and met Gatobella's eyes. Gatobella looked back, looking almost as if she were giving Alex a knowing glare. Alex shook her head and handed Harper the tuna fish on wheat and tried to pick Gatobella up.

"Thanks, Alex." Harper replied, taking a bite. "I was going to help you out on your Spanish homework, but before I could start, Gatobella sat on the book, and every time I moved her, she would just get back into place."

"Really." Alex looked down at the cat in her arms. Gatobella had begun to purr innocently, and Alex felt it in her arms and chest. "I'm getting the feeling that you want me to do this myself." Alex remembered how Gatobella refused to eat until Alex filled the bowl. Gatobella made a slight head movement that looked like a nod, and Alex threw her over to the foot of the bed. She got her Italian sub and began to eat. "I joined Book Club. Happy?"

Even though Alex spoke with her mouth full, it did not seem to bother Harper whatsoever. "Ye?h. How is it? Are you going to be reading the H. J. Darling book I lent you?"

"Oh, right." Alex set down her sub and unzipped a pocket in her backpack. She got out _Charmed and Dangerous: __The Castle, the Wand, and the Professor_ and tossed it to Harper. "Nah. That girl, Joan Kaz... something, joined Book Club too and suggested that we read _Nineteen-Eighty-Four_. We start reading next week." Alex began eating her sub again. "Today, the others pretty much just discussed _Wuthering Heights_, and Sierra Thompson got into this argument with Tanner Trent."

"Again? Why can't those two just kiss and get it over with?" Harper swallowed before speaking unlike Alex, and Gatobella had gotten down from the bed and was rubbing against Harper's leg. "Oh, you want some tuna?" Gatobella looked up at the question, looking hopeful.

"We're not supposed to feed her human food," Alex said. "There's probably some stuff mixed with the tuna that could make her sick." She swallowed and finished off the rest of her sandwich.

Gatobella made a sound that made her seem annoyed, and Alex began to really wonder about her cat. Did she understand what she was saying? How? Not even Dragon knew what they said unless it was a command like "Sit" or "Roll over". He had no idea what to make of "It's rude to breathe fire at strangers," but Gatobella could understand, "She can't eat human food"? Alex began to think more than ever that Gatobella was a wizard in disguise sent to teach her about responsibility. If not by her parents, then maybe by Professor Crumbs or the guidance counselor with the weird-looking face (Alex never bothered to remember his name).

"So you excited about reading the new book? I hear Justin enjoyed reading it two months ago in AP Lit." Harper finished her sandwich as well and closed Alex's Spanish book.

Alex sat down on her bed and moved the tray onto the floor. "It freaked him out. Especially when he was out driving or going out for a walk and saw a surveillance camera. I didn't get why at first, but Joan told me about the book. At first I thought it would be some boring history book, but…" Alex gave a shrug. She was starting to feel a bit warm in her many layers and took off her black bubble coat. She also smoothed down her shoulder-length hair and heaved a sigh. "Everyone in that club is either an A student, an AB student, takes AP classes, or a combination of the above. I fall in _none_ of those categories. What makes you think I can keep this up without being kicked out?"

"You actually _care_?" Harper looked generally surprised and looked as if she may even die of shock. Gatobella leaped up onto Harper's lap, causing her to let out a soft, "Oomph." Gatobella then leaped up onto the desk and relaxed between the Spanish text book and the lamp. She watched the two girls as they spoke. She almost looked interested.

Reluctant to answer at first, Alex lay down and stared at the ceiling. "Lately, yeah." She mumbled this and crossed her arms over her chest. "You were talking all about colleges and stuff, and even in the Air Force, all I'll get is more school. I never wanted to join anyway, but there are some kids at school thinking they'll join to skip out on more education. Boy, are _they_ wrong…" Alex gave a shallow laugh, remembering when her dad made her research the Air Force. He wanted her to join, thinking that maybe _they_ could whip her into shape.

Harper looked over at the text book on the desk and then tossed it over to the bed, making Alex look up at her. "There's no easy road through life, Alex."


	5. Two of Cups

**Chapter 5: Two of Cups**

"_The bird, a nest; the spider, a web; man, friendship." - William Blake_

Chaos.

There was no other word that could be used to describe what was going on in the main room of the castle. This war was raging throughout Tartarus, but no one could rightfully classify this as a war. Who was on what side?

That was the main problem: no one knew. No one even knew if there _were_ sides anymore. There was no telling who exactly had set it off or why, but everyone kept fighting. Usually, wars were seen as good versus evil, different people assigning these labels to whichever group they were taught to. Now, however, evil fought evil. There were rumors of good hiding among them, and that may be why they still fought. No one knew who the traitors were until they came face-to-face with someone they somehow just _knew_ didn't fight for the same reasons as they.

Within a realm so unstable, it hadn't taken much to set them off. In a world full of greed, envy, and paranoia, the war was the perfect excuse to take out those undesirable to the fighters. It no longer _mattered_ if someone was on the same side as another. Now it simply dropped down to whether or not someone could be taken as a threat to whatever security the fighter possessed.

Only a few kept fighting for true reasons, one of those few being Seraphina, her hands gripping the hilt of a xiphos sword as sweat rolled down her dark skin. Her lips were rolled back to show her teeth like a predator warning off another from her meal, and her bloodshot eyes burrowed into the eyes of the gargoyle before her, who, too, fought for a reason.

And that reason was to see all traitors of Set dead.

His bright, yellow eyes widened as the sword was swung, nearly decapitating him. He dodged and tried to hit the zolak-gai in the head with his war hammer. She dodged it easily, her moves expert and agile. What she lacked in strength she more than made up for in speed, agility, and cunning. Seraphina leapt up into the air, and her raven-like wings gave two powerful flaps before she was hovering just above Caedmon. She brought her sword down, breaking one of the horns jutting out of Caedmon's forehead before he could bother to dodge or give a counterattack. He then took off into the air as well, his lips twisting into a scowl.

As fires and lightning flashed through the room, his indigo scales seemed to glow like newly-polished iolite. He swung his hammer once more, but at the same time, Seraphina had dropped down a meter and threw the sword up like a lance, whispering a short spell to give it speed. Caedmon dove to the left, but the shining blade pierced one of his bat-like wings. Seraphina then bolted upwards and retrieved the sword as the gargoyle fell to the ground. He tried to flap, but his left wing was practically useless. He hit the floor hard, and everyone else was too preoccupied to come to his aid.

"Thanks for the training," Seraphina whispered, her lips now in a smirk. Her eyes glittered dangerously, and she clutched the sword's hilt tightly. "But this ends now."

Breathing deeply, the deafening sound of metal on metal filled Caedmon's ears. He forced himself onto his feet and ignored the pain as he gritted his sharp teeth. "That all you got, traitor?!" He snarled and got into a fighting stance.

Flight or no flight, he would beat this zolak-gai. She had once been his student. Students did not beat their masters. Bellowing a battle cry, he leapt up with all of his strength and threw his war hammer at Seraphina. She had not expected such a risky move. She dodged, but it clipped the top arch of her right wing. She screamed but stayed in the air. Blood oozed from the wound, but her wild eyes shot daggers into Caedmon as he curled his fingers into tight fists. Seraphina opened up her mind, a coldness spreading throughout her body.

The blade of Seraphina's sword suddenly burst into metallic black flames. Caedmon backed up and gave a shout of shock and fear. How could this be? How could Seraphina have such power? Her face twisted into something horrible as she dove down towards him, crying out in her ear-splitting battle cry. She had both hands on the hilt, the blade over her head. Caedmon danced around her, determined not to die. Seraphina flapped her wings hard, her speed too much for Caedmon. She swung, he dodged, she faked, he caught on, and he managed to throw a punch into her gut, knocking her back. The sword fell to the ground, the fire going out as soon as the hilt left Seraphina's hands.

She landed on her back, crushing her injured wing, and she cried out in pain. Before Caedmon could get to her, however, she jumped to her feet and dove for her sword. Caedmon got to it first. Seraphina was on the ground and did not have enough time to get onto her feet. Caedmon brought the sword up, making it perpendicular to the ground, and Seraphina quickly rolled out of the way and used her leg to sweep through Caedmon's ankles. He stumbled but did not fall. Yet that was all the time Seraphina needed to get on her feet and roundhouse kick her old instructor in the head. The spike on the tip of his ear pierced her skin, but she barely felt it as she followed through with a reverse side kick into Caedmon's uncovered gut. The sword fell out of his grip, and Seraphina caught it by the hilt before it even hit the ground.

Without hesitating, Seraphina quickly steps forward, thrusting the sword into Caedmon's bare, muscular chest just as the blade burst into onyx fire that seemed to almost glitter in the dim light. Seraphina smiled as Caedmon screamed in immense pain, causing Seraphina's ear drums to ring. It felt sweet to her as she stepped back, yanking the blade out of its bloody sheath. The fire on the blade extinguished, but it was now spreading throughout the Gargoyle's body. He stepped back, trying to put it out, and Seraphina's smile fell slightly. Swallowing, she stepped forward and used an elbow strike to knock him to the ground, unconscious. She stood over him, her lips in a steady frown, and she watched silently as the flames greedily tore through the body, not even leaving ash.

The shrieks and clashes of metal on metal barreled into Seraphina's ears, and she barely heard Atol call her name. Turning, she saw him fighting off two chikas with his twin swords. The chikas fought with quarter staffs, and Atol's honey-blonde hair was streaked with blood and plastered to his head by sweat. Like Seraphina, his skin was damp, rivulets streaming down his neck, face, arms, and back, and he had lacerations all over his arms and face. Bruises covered his chest and back, and torn fabric hung over his arms and hip, showing his many contusions.

Seraphina raced towards him, her sword coming down on a Chika with her back to Seraphina. With two swings, the Chika was beheaded, and the second one looked up at Seraphina in surprise. Big mistake.

Atol thrust a sword in an upward motion, the blade piercing through her jaw and going all the way up through her brain and skull. Her lime-colored eyes widened greatly as her body went slack. Atol yanked his sword out of her head and looked over to Seraphina gratefully. Both were banged up badly, but neither was anywhere near giving up.

Putting their backs to each other, the two gave a three-hundred-sixty-degree sweep of the chaos around them. Swords and staffs clashed. Arrows were shot. Walls crumbled, and bodies littered the ground, making others trip before either becoming part of the count or getting lucky.

Banshees gave deafening shrieks. Krikols drained the blood of their victims. Garudas roared and slashed their claws at their opponents. Seraphina's eyes settled on one, specific garuda. She killed a Wizard by ripping out his windpipe with her already-bloodied teeth.

"He's not here." Seraphina's eyes left that scene as she moved on to a Sorcer who had tried to attack her with a crossbow. He was attacked by a krikol that seemed to have come out of nowhere. "It's been hours."

"He'll be here," Atol assured in a low voice as his gaze settled on a garuda charging right for him, his wings flapping hard to give him speed. "It's Abaddon at two o'clock."

Seraphina did not bother to turn around as an Ogre ran towards her, a claymore wielded over her head. "Bela at my left. Gee, and I thought we were friends."

The second sentence had a sarcastic tone to it, but Atol had left to fight Abaddon, leaving Seraphina to fight Bela. Seraphina went into a back stance, and she held the sword up at an angle just in time to block Bela's strike. The grip at that angle felt awkward and greatly strained her wrists not far from the point of breaking, but it was better than having steel in her skull.

Her wrists began to hurt as moments passed, but with adrenaline pumping through her veins, Seraphina pushed Bela off and wasted no time to slice at her exposed, pale blue neck. Bela tried to dodge, but she was not fast enough. Seraphina still sliced through her windpipe. The claymore fell from Bela's hands, and as she fell next to it, Seraphina then stabbed Bella in the heart, making sure that she died.

"Goodbye," Seraphina hissed as she watched the sticky, deep green fluid begin to stain Bela's long, violet hair.

Afterwards, Seraphina turned to help Atol, but he had already taken care of his problem, a smile on his face. Nodding at Seraphina, he silently told her, _"There are no friends here, Seraphina. Only obstacles."_

Breathing deeply, Seraphina nodded back. She was finally feeling some fatigue, and the sword in her hands felt slippery. She could not get a good-enough grip on it. How much longer could this go on? She thought about giving up when there was an explosion in the center of the great hall, causing everyone to stop what they were doing.

Everyone within a five-foot radius of the explosion was forced back, many receiving fatal blows. The rest were heavily injured, more blood painting the floor. Even Seraphina and Atol were thrown down, their weapons knocked out of their hands. Seraphina had to close her eyes from the bright light from the explosion, but as soon as the light ebbed, her eyes opened. Standing in the middle of the room was Set, his chiseled face filled with anger.

"Cease!" he ordered, and all weapons were dropped to the floor.

If not in allegiance, weapons were dropped in fear of the ex-Guardian of Chaos before them. His eyes, which were like disks of hematite, were filled with fury, and his wire-thin lips were in a deep snarl. His large hands were clutched in white-knuckled fists, and his russet skin seemed to radiate anger that made everyone cower before him. His deep-set eyes swept the room and fell on Seraphina, who looked more satisfied than scared.

"_You_." His voice shook, and Seraphina's smile fell slightly. "Shall I show everyone what happens when someone betrays _me_?!" His deep voice boomed, echoing throughout the room. Another few stones fell from an already-crumbling wall.

Pushing herself onto her feet, Seraphina glowered at him daringly. There was a shuddering through her body as a great pain claimed her head, making Seraphina fearful. Yet, her face stayed even, and her stance was challenging. Her voice came out almost in a growl. "I _dare_ you."

**xxx**

Alex awoke with a gasp, finding a drop of drool on a page of her chemistry book. She quickly sat up and wiped her mouth as she looked around to see if anyone had been watching her. They were all busy taking notes and listening to Mr. Thorne as he spoke about gas laws. He was writing an equation on the board, and Alex saw that she was on the wrong page.

With all other dreams, Alex had only been asleep—for lack of a better word—for about a couple of minutes. Was that true this time? She guessed so. Any longer, and Mr. Thorne would have been bound to notice. Alex swallowed and turned her textbook to the correct page. She leaned back and hugged herself around the waist, feeling like when she was three and afraid of the bogeyman.

She had hid under her covers, hugging her flashlight and keeping it close to her. She had heard someone call it a 'torch', and he had told her that if the monster ever tried to attack her, all she had to do was turn it on. The beam of light would catch the monster on fire, and it would be sent back where it came from and never again come after her.

The flashlight had then become her safety blanket. She had taken it everywhere. At that moment, Alex wanted her large, orange and yellow flashlight back. It had once been a part of Justin's light saber, but when he had gotten a more realistic-looking one, he had given the old one to Alex.

Leaning back in her seat, Alex tried to change her thoughts to a year later when she had hid under Justin's bed and became _his_ bogeyman. She had realized that the monster did not exist, yet Justin had not been convinced of that. That was when Alex had gotten the idea to dress in a black dress, paint her face and hands grey-blue, and wear her mom's Cher wig.

She had also worn rubber vampire teeth and made dark circles beneath her eyes using her mom's liquid eyeliner. She had also used her mom's bright red lipstick to make it look like she was bleeding on her face and hands. Moaning and growling for ten minutes, she had woken up Justin and had gotten him to sit up, clutching one of his action figures. Alex had then leapt out from under the bed, screaming like a banshee. Alex had ended up in _huge_ trouble, but hearing Justin scream and making him wet his pants had been worth it.

The thought did not make her feel better.

Set's angry face filled her mind, only to be replaced by Seraphina's. Alex felt herself shiver, and she felt a tickle in her nose. She sneezed, and her first thought was, _Someone is talking about me._

She had no idea why she thought that, but she looked over to her left and saw Joan writing something down in her notebook. She was two rows away, and Alex's view was blocked by Macy's and Shaun's heads; however, she had a feeling that Joan wasn't copying down the equation or the graph that Mr. Thorne was now writing down. The redhead never looked up, and her expression made her seem focused. Her hair was up in a bun today, kept in place by a peculiar-looking hair stick, but some locks were hanging down over the back of her neck.

"Bless you." Alex barely heard Harper, who had turned around to look at Alex. Looking forward, Alex nodded thanks, and Harper turned back around to copy down the graph.

Trying to keep her mind blank, Alex just sat there, extremely bored. It was almost thirty minutes until the bell rang, and Alex got out of the classroom as quickly as she could and waited at her locker for Harper. She opened the door and ate some of the French fries she was keeping on one of the shelves. She had been feeling hungrier lately, and she had been eating much more food than usual. Yet, when she stood on the scale that morning, it told Alex that she had actually _lost_ weight—more than what was healthy, she was sure.

Alex finished off her fries as Harper approached and began to wonder about all the weird stuff happening to her. Losing weight, though, was the least of her problems. The weird dreams were at the top of her list for the moment.

"Alex, is everything alright?" Harper asked, leaning on one of the lockers. She held her chemistry book up to her chest, disturbing her chestnut necklace. Her long-sleeved dress looked like fire in a fireplace, but around the hem was white fluff like snow. Chestnut shells had been glued to Harper's red scrunchie, and the cloth covering her feet looked more like fluffy, white slippers than actual shoes.

_No._ "Yeah, I'm good." Alex got out the other half of her quarter-pounder with cheese.

She began eating as Joan approached them. She held out a paperback book towards Alex. It was _1984_.

"What's this for? I thought we didn't start reading 'till the next meeting?" To tell the truth, Alex had not really listened, but she was pretty sure that that was what Monica had said.

"We do," assured Joan, "but your brother tell me you read slow and to give you book, so you can have early start." She gave that pleasant smile of hers, and Alex took the book with her own half-hearted smile.

"Thanks." She set down her burger back on the locker shelf and pushed the book into her backpack, making sure to be careful. "Hey, Joan, if you don't mind me by asking, what were you writing back in chemistry class?" Alex instantly regretted asking the question. Joan sat two rows away from her, and Alex would have had to be watching her fairly closely to notice that she was writing anything but notes.

However, Joan seemed oblivious about that point and replied, "I was writing letter to my friends, Zumreta and Hana. I already know chemistry, but I must take it again. I do not know why. It may have something to do with my transcripts, but I do not know for sure."

"Well, I should have signed up for zoology," stated Alex as she got her burger back out of her locker.

Harper looked at Joan's hair and told her, "I really like that hair stick. Where'd you get it?"

Touching the twisted point at the top of the hair stick, Joan answered, "One of my friends gived it to me."

"That's cool," Harper replied, admiring the hair stick before meeting Joan's eyes. "Hey, I'm going over to Alex's for dinner tonight. You wanna join?"

Looking over at her best friend, Alex asked with a full mouth, "It's _my_ house, why are _you_ inviting her?" Alex swallowed and took another bite before closing her locker. The bell was going to ring soon, but the art room was nearby.

Harper did not seem hurt by the remark. "Fine. Well, I should get to math class." She went down the hallway, towards the senior hall. Harper was taking accelerated math, whereas Alex had to retake geometry.

Joan and Alex then began to walk towards art III, and Joan softly said, "It is alright if you do not want me to come. You still do not know me very well."

"Nah, come on." Alex finished her quarter-pounder with cheese and dropped the wrapper on the floor. "It'll be fun. Plus, I may need some help understanding the book."

Laughing, Joan responded, "You may need a dictionary. If you do not know what it says, I will not either."

"I meant about some of what's going on. The themes and stuff they were talking about back at that last meeting." The two entered the art class and chose easels next to one another. "So come by around six?"

Alex dropped her backpack and went over to her art locker to get her paints and canvas. She needed to continue with her painting of Gatobella sleeping on the pillow. Mrs. Carson told her that she needed more contrast, and she needed to add something to add to the background—it was too heavy on the left side. Alex had wanted to argue at first, but after giving it some thought, she realized that Mrs. Carson was right.

Getting her paints as well, Joan thought for a moment before grabbing her canvas. She was only half-way done, but the work looked almost professional. It showed her and two other girls—Alex guessed Zumreta and Hana—standing in a park. It had somewhat of a post-impressionistic style and looked so beautiful. Joan was in the pond with a mermaid tail, the blonde girl was in the air with angel-like wings, and the girl with short, black hair was leaning against a tree, her ears long and sharply pointed. Mrs. Carson had liked it, saying that it was imaginative. Alex was sometimes jealous of her, but it was hard to feel that way for long about a girl who looked so innocent.

Setting up her canvas on the easel, Joan looked over at Alex as she got two cups of water. "Yes, I would love to come."

Alex smiled and handed Joan one of the cups of water. She set hers down on a table and dumped her brushes into it. Joan did the same with hers, and Alex decided to tell her what to expect. "Cool, but I should warn you about my family first. For one thing, there's Max…"


	6. Five of Pentacles

**Chapter 6: Five of Pentacles**

"_These words are razors to my wounded heart." - from Titus Andronicus_

On-million-and-one thoughts spun through Alex's mind as she went down the stairs into the Late Nite Bite. She nearly hit her head on the low pipe but ducked at the last second. This made Alex stumble, but she caught herself on the wall. She stayed there, not sure if she could move on. What was she going to say to Juliette?

"_Sorry that this brings up awful memories of your death, but…." _

Alex could not say that. She may act like she does not really care—all the eggshells were bound to break sooner or later; nevertheless, she wasn't heartless. Alex could not imagine dying _once_. How hard is it to not just die, but be brought back to live a life of drinking blood and hiding from sunlight? Then, all of a sudden, someone brings up all of those terrible memories? Alex knew that something like that would force her into insanity. Alex wished that she had stayed in her room when she dropped off her stuff.

Thinking deeply, Alex had to hold onto the wall as she stared into space. She did not feel like facing Juliette. She should just turn back now. Her lids slid over her stinging eyes, but her feet refused to move. Her brain screamed at them to go back, but they stayed planted on that stair. Alex wanted to move. She wanted to get out of there. Maybe her dreams meant nothing. It could be some sort of wizard thing.

Some years ago, Alex would watch _A Haunting_ with her dad and Max—probably the only thing on Discovery Channel that was interesting when they weren't blowing stuff up. From the show, Alex had learned about psychics and clairvoyants. Could Alex's dreams be some form of clairvoyance? Then what with the killer looking like an older version of Alex?

_Maybe I just imagined my face as hers,_ Alex decided. _And my brain just made my face look older._

Alex was not completely convinced, but that was the best explanation she had. Alex still liked Harper's doppelgänger theory, but that did not explain why Alex was seeing what she had seen. Was it like with twins with some weird psychic connection? Or was Alex being haunted? Maybe Seraphina's ghost had seen Alex and was reminded of her past. Then maybe Seraphina wanted her story to be known because she wanted justice or something. Alex did not know why Seraphina had started that battle in that Tartarus place, but that dream ended with Set threatening her. Alex had a feeling that he killed her in a horrible, torturous way.

"Is that it?" Alex whispered this, needing the words to be out in the air. She needed to physically hear her words. Maybe then someone else who knew the answer was would come and tell her what it was. Alex needed answers, but, at the same time, she was afraid of them.

Ignorance was bliss.

Alex began to turn but stopped halfway.

Ignorance was torture.

Swallowing, she finally went all the way down into the restaurant, nearly running into Cindy. "Oh, sorry."

"That's alright," Cindy replied. "I'll go tell Alucard to make your usual." She began to head towards the kitchen, but Alex stopped her as they reached the refreshments counter.

"Wait." Why did Alex stop her? She had a chance to avoid this entire, uncomfortable conversation, but she was diving right in. "Uh… is Juliette here?" Her heart was pounding against her ribs, and Alex's brain was screaming at her, telling her to leave that instant. Alex didn't listen. She had to know. "I need to ask her something."

"Oh, well, she's out with Justin right now. They went to see a movie," Cindy informed. "What was it that you want to ask her?" She gave a smile, her fangs gleaming in the light. They no longer unnerved Alex, though the smile did not seem to match Cindy's tired eyes. Now that Alex thought about it, whenever she saw Cindy, she looked as if she were about to collapse with exhaustion.

_Nothing! Say it was nothing and WALK AWAY!_ Alex's mind shrieked. "It's…" How was Alex supposed to ask this? There was still the smallest chance of it actually being nothing, right? _No._ Alex could not fool herself. Everything in her dreams was true. She felt it in her core. There was no denying it. "Um…" Alex looked away, almost feeling Cindy's confusion. "I was wondering if you knew what a Notte was." _I had a dream of this shadow-woman calling you and Alucard Nottes._ Alex shut her mouth before the last part could spill out.

Cindy's smile fell. "What? What did you ask?" Her voice was low and cautious. It was as if she was being watched and did not want anyone besides Alex to hear her words.

Swallowing, Alex grew nervous. She was digging herself deeper into a hole she was not sure she would be able to get herself out of. "I know you know." Alex's mouth suddenly became dry. She was about to just run away, but Cindy's look of earnest just took a powerful grip at her deep need for information. Looked like Alex was about to find out if curiosity really did kill the cat.

"It was in a dream. I've been having weird dreams centering around a specific person, and in one of them, she called this woman and man 'Nottes'." Alex did not know if Juliette had mentioned Alex's painting to her parents, so she decided not to mention anything Juliette had told her.

Straightening up, Cindy did a careful sweep of the restaurant. She then turned back to Alex and guided her towards the back. "Follow me. We're going to the family room in the back."

Following obediently, Alex said nothing. She decided to wait until Cindy said or asked something else. The two went passed Alucard, who was scooping ice cream into a cone for the little girl in front of the counter with her mother. They then went through the spotless kitchen and into a fairly large room with a pink coffin in the center of it. It was elevated, and right behind it was what looked like a bay window without the window, curtain covering most of the brick wall that was where the window should be.

To the left of it was a large barrel with a spigot sticking out, making Alex think of those barrels in taverns, containing some sort of alcoholic drink. Above this barrel, however, was a sign. _Blood_ and _No Blood_ were both crossed out, leaving _Punch_. Normally, Alex would have laughed, but the circumstances and the fact that there was a metal wall with drawers that were meant for keeping dead people in to her left made her shiver instead. Alex did not know the name to the metal wall with the drawers, but she remembered seeing one on _NCIS_. She looked over to her right to look at the antique organ. She actually wasn't sure if it really was antique, but it looked like it was.

"Here." Cindy had Alex sit down at the bay window seat, and Alex saw chalk drawings on the wall behind the curtain. It looked like Juliette had tried to draw grass, trees, two dogs, and a sun high in the sky. The drawings were rudimentary, but Alex understood what it was Juliette wanted.

As Alex sat quietly, Cindy got a small, stout glass and filled it with thick, crimson liquid. It sloshed into the cup, some of it clinging to the glass's sides. Cindy took a few sips to steady herself before saying anything.

The silence was awkward, and she soon couldn't take it anymore. "What did she look like? The woman and man." Cindy would not meet Alex's eyes, and she kept drinking as she stood there, deciding to look over at her organ instead of the frightened teenager before her.

"The woman was pretty tall, light brown hair, red eyes, pale, skinny, dark clothes, and she looked really scared. The man was braver and had darker hair, red eyes, pale skin, dark clothes, and a beard. He didn't seem to be as afraid of Seraphina." Alex bit her lip as soon as she said the name. Eyes shut tightly, her chin went down to touch her chest, but she could feel Cindy's eyes bore into her head as the sound of crushing glass filled her ears. It did not sound like it hit the floor. Alex guessed that Cindy had accidentally squeezed it too tightly.

Cindy's voice was slow and shaky as she looked away again. "_Who_?" It sounded like she had heard Alex but wanted to make absolutely sure she had heard her correctly—or hoped that the name would suddenly change to something else.

"Seraphina. She was the shadow-woman trying to take the little girl away from the woman and this blue rock from the man." Alex spoke softly, almost unsure. She knew that her information was correct, but should she tell Cindy everything? Alex desperately wanted answers. She wanted the truth. Maybe this truth called for give and take. "She was called a zo-lock-guy"—Alex had to say the word slowly to get the pronunciation right—"by these other people."

Looking at her hand, Cindy examined the glass shards that punctured her skin. Her blood mixed in with the blood she had been drinking, and the smell began to waft into her nostrils. "So… her name was Seraphina. She can't be _the_ Seraphina, can she? No… The evil on her was too intoxicating for her to be _the_ Seraphina." Cindy licked her hand, and Alex cringed.

_Some of that is _her_ blood. I wonder if it tastes all the same to her. Gross. Whatever. As long as she doesn't drink _my_ blood, I'm good. _Alex straightened, not sure what to say. Cindy had sounded as if she were speaking to herself. She cleaned the blood and glass from her hand, and Alex began to feel a bit ill. "She spoke about this guy by the name of Set."

Eyes finally on Alex's face, Cindy dropped her hand, ignoring the scent of fresh blood. "Set?" Cindy looked terrified. "Was there anyone else?" Her tone implied that she wanted the answer to be "No."

"Atol. He looked to be in a relationship with Seraphina."

Cindy had heard enough and jerked Alex up onto her feet. She then hastily made her way to a long rope with a tassel at the end of it. She yanked on it, and stairs came out from the wall near the organ, leading to a door. "I believe it's time for you to leave." Her face was stern, but her eyes held anger and fear. Alex was more confused now than ever. Even worse, she had gotten no answers—only more questions.

"No." Her voice shook, and her legs felt weak. Yet, Alex was determined to stand firm and get the answers she had come here for. "Who are these people? What are Nottes? Zolak-gais? What's Tartarus? Why did everyone seem to be afraid of Set? What are Outters? WHY AM I GETTING THESE DREAMS?!" Tears burned Alex's eyes and glided down her still-cold cheeks. Her breathing shuddered, causing her next words to be broken and quiet. "I know they're real. You wouldn't be acting like this if they weren't."

The two stood there in silence for what seemed like hours, neither one even blinking. Blood ran down Cindy's hand, and Alex's tears fell to the stone floor. The air seemed to become thick and stagnant, and all of their mixed emotions seemed to hang within it, suffocating the two. Finally, Cindy sighed and looked down as she leaned against the wall. Alex's stance eased, but she still stood, arms at her sides. Cindy looked to be thinking over what Alex had said and how to word what she was going to say to her in response. She bit her bottom lip, and it was another while until she finally spoke.

"Me, Juliette, and Alucard are Nottes," she said softly, almost regrettably. "Nottes were created, rather than born, but not just in the way you'd think. At our home many centuries ago, a group of Vampires decided to play around with genetics, trying to create a super-race to make up the army of their nation. They took fertilized eggs from Vampires of 'adequate' or 'desirable' genes. They put the eggs in large tubes full of a special fluid, and they were given nutrients to ensure optimum growth and health. They were also injected with different mixes of DNA of different animals, giving them specific characteristics. They were given incredible speed, strength, extraordinary senses, the ability to heal quickly and not get hurt easily, and the ability to adapt to just about every environment. We could even shape-shift. However, there were problems:

"For one thing, our skin was extremely sensitive to UV rays and had allergies to light, so we could not go out into the sun without heavy protection, and even artificial lights irritated our skin if it was too bright. We also craved blood. Vampires normally drank the blood of the animals they ate—like the extremely rare steaks you've seen Alucard eat. They also needed some blood from humans every so often, but only every week or so, depending on the person.

"Unfortunately, we Nottes craved human blood _all the time_. We even drank blood from one-another. Not to drink enough blood meant our bodies draining energy from our muscles and organs. We could not preform magic, but we were able to turn others into one of our kind—even after they died. We were seen as monsters. We were not people. We were abominations—experiments and nothing more. Many of the first experiments matured too quickly and died of 'old age' at fifteen, twelve, seven, and even four. Others died from not getting enough blood. A few died from being killed by other Nottes for _their_ blood. More were executed when the government found the lab and deemed the experiments as unethical and decided that they should be terminated. Out of eighty-one specimens, only about twenty survived and managed to escape." Cindy swallowed.

After a lengthy pause, she continued: "The rest of us had been secretly injected with a special serum by Dr. Gismondi before the government officials came. It made it to where we all only aged one year for every twenty or thirty years, depending on our string of DNA and how stable we were. I was already in my late teens at the time, as was Alucard. Also, anyone we 'turned' would have that same trait, though it would also vary depending on _their _genes. Juliette ages _much_ more slowly than Alucard and I.

"Finally, each Notte was assigned a letter and number for identification. There was _A_ through _I_ and nine of each letter. Each letter group could shape-shift into one different form. For example, Alucard was A-Two, and he can shape-shift into a bat. I was C-Six, and I can shape-shift into mist. Juliette shape-shifts into mist as well, because I was the one that officially changed her. Nottes are also able to learn any language rapidly just by drinking blood from a person speaking that language. Don't ask me how it works. I don't know. Now please leave."

Mind reeling, Alex obeyed, knowing that her brain would explode if she tried to learn more. Plus, Cindy was sobbing now, blood mixing with her tears as she wiped her face with her wounded hand, which was already healing. Alex gave her one last, long look before going through the door and into the frozen world once more.

**xxx**

Once inside, Alex unzipped her bubble coat and threw it over onto the couch. Her mom was in the kitchen, cooking something that had the comforting scent of cheese. Alex hoped that she was cooking her special ten-cheese enchilada surprise. After all the weird stuff going on, Alex wanted something of her old life to grasp on to.

She had once heard someone at school say, "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

Alex was very sure that she was not yet at the end of her rope, but she felt like she was making her way towards it—and quickly.

"Alex, why are you late? Joan and Harper had gotten here ten minutes ago. They're up in your room now." Theresa turned to give Alex that stern look she knew Alex was immune to. Alex still did not get why Mom bothered.

Giving a stiff nod, Alex headed upstairs, not bothering to feign contentment. She was upset, and she didn't care who knew. Alex was sure that her eyes were still red, and she could feel the stains tears had left on her cheeks. She wiped her irritated eyes again and entered her room, where Harper and Joan admired Alex's painting of Gatobella.

"Like it?" Even Alex's curt tone confirmed her distress.

"Are you alright?" Harper turned to look at her best friend, concern clear in her eyes.

_Hell no!_ "Yeah." Alex did not know why she lied this time when it was so obvious. Was it a reflex? It didn't matter. Alex walked deeper into her room and looked at her art assignment, which had taken her most recent painting's place on the easel. Alex had worked on the cast shadow a bit before going over to the Late Nite Bite, and it was starting to look really nice.

Joan's soft gaze met Alex's anguished one, her smile starting to tick Alex off. "Are you sure?" There was concern there, but Alex was not into anyone trying to lift her spirits at that moment. She was starting to feel down-right miserable, and she wanted people to see that. Maybe that saying was true: Misery loved company.

"Yes." Alex's tone was forceful, and Harper seemed to take a step back, ready to give Alex some space.

Joan, however, stood her ground. She was either oblivious of Alex's rising irritation or was not afraid of an angry Alex. Swallowing, Alex decided that getting angry wasn't the answer. She looked over at her painting, proud of how she blended the grey and burnt sienna, just like Gatobella's fur. The white had a soft, grey-blue shadow, and her tail was curled up around her legs. Her ears were down, eyes squeezed shut.

"What do you think of it?" Her tone was emotionless this time.

Taking another look, Joan seemed to examine the painting with interest. "Yes, it is nicely done, and your contrast is much better than before." Her smile turned almost amused. "You have captured me well."


	7. Knight of Swords

**Chapter 7: Knight of Swords**

"_Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart." - from The Scarlet Letter_

Silence stretched on through the stiffening air. It was soon broken up by the nervous laugh Harper used to fill up space. Alex stood stalk-still, her chocolate eyes never leaving Joan. The redhead turned in an almost ballerina-like style to face Alex squarely. She always seemed to have graceful and self-conscious movements. It was as if she were dancing, always picturing herself on stage. It annoyed Alex. Now was not the time to screw with her already-reeling head, and here was Joan, a guileless smile on her face after just stating that _she_ was in the picture of Gatobella.

The teenager had always suspected that her Maine Coon was a wizard in disguise, but how could _Joan_ be her cat? True, Alex had never seen them together, but she could say the same thing about hundreds of girls in her school, hundreds of thousands in the city, and billions in the world. How is Joan different? Suddenly, it dawned on Alex: Joan was in all of her classes. She sat near Alex during lunch. She suddenly joined Book Club the _exact same_ _day_ as Alex did. Alex had no idea where Joan lived, and all of her clothes looked like hand-me-downs.

Something else hit Alex. It was subtle. She was normally not one to pick up on subtlety, but she had definitely noticed _that_.

"Your English is better." Alex said this in nearly complete disbelief. Joan still spoke with an accent, but it was hardly noticeable. She still spoke more slowly than the others, but it wasn't because she didn't know the language.

It had not been easily caught on, and by the way Harper stopped laughing and looked at Joan, she had not noticed until Alex mentioned it. Joan's smile grew. She had known Alex would notice and had wanted her to.

"You are smarter than you are given credit for," Joan complimented. Her smile lit up her pale face. She always seemed so happy—so amused. It was like she was in a secure bubble that kept her from everything bad in the world. Either that or it did not affect her.

People used to think that of Alex. Truth was, she shut off her ears as soon as someone started to talk about national or world issues. When AP government got into another heated debate today, Alex just made her mind go blank. She did not want to know that the world around her could be tearing at the seams. Ignorance was bliss. Was that Joan's philosophy? Was that why she was always so happy? Either way, Alex wanted her to just stop it. She felt like going up to her and just _smacking_ that smile off of her slender face.

Harper seemed to be extremely uncomfortable and began to leave. "I'm going to go see if your mom needs some help with dinner."

Alex allowed her to leave but gave Joan a look that said, "Don't you _dare_ take one step. You are going to stay here and tell me what the hell is going on."

She did not have to say this out loud. By the short nod Joan gave, she understood.

Alex nodded in turn and demanded, "_Spill_."

Smile faltering, Joan looked a little confused. She thought for a minute but then replied, "What is it you wish me to tell you? Why I disguised myself as a cat or why you have been having those flashbacks?" Her lips now only had the slightest ghost of a smile, but Alex caught a flash of sorrow in her eyes, as if she had just remembered something painful.

It became hard for Alex to breathe. "How…" Alex's eyes widened. "_Flashbacks_?!" That was much worse than them being dreams. Flashbacks were memories. That meant… "No. No way. _I'm_ Seraphina?!"

Joan nodded solemnly as she sat with her ankles crossed elegantly in front of her, legs bent at an angle. Her hands were folded in her lap, and she sat with an erect spine. The smile was gone, and her face was grave. Her posture and the way she looked at Alex were somewhat intimidating, but Alex still seemed to have that image of the innocent new girl in her head. "Also, before you ask, I am not a Notte, but they were created on a planet in a galaxy next to mine in Throth."

Grunting, Alex bent forward and grabbed her head, elbows on her thighs. She felt like her head was about to explode. She was still getting over all that information from Cindy, and now Joan was speaking of different galaxies and some place called Throth. Cindy had not specified where Nottes were from. Alex had just assumed that it was in the wizard world. "What? Okay, start from—"

"Alex! Max! Joan! Dinner is ready!" Theresa called from downstairs.

Joan rose to her feet, but Alex still sat, her hair creating a dark veil over her face, shielding her view. Her eyes began to sting again, but she did not know why she was crying. She had already suspected that she and that monster were the same person, but having it confirmed was so much more world-shaking. With suspicions, there was always the chance of her being wrong. Joan's words had ripped that hope away from her.

"Come. We can speak later." Joan held out a hand to help Alex up onto her feet. Alex just sat there, and Joan sighed. "I promise, Alex. Ask me any questions you wish to later, but now it is time to eat."

"Not. Hungry." Alex emphasized the separation between the words to turn them into two separate sentences. Venom dripped from her voice, and as she looked up slightly, her hair parting slightly to show a fraction of her shadowed face, she reasoned that she probably looked like something from a horror movie.

Unfazed, Joan crossed her arms. "Yes you are. I can hear your stomach growling from here, and you need to learn to eat whenever you get the chance."

Throughout the statement, Joan never smiled, and Alex suddenly found herself missing it. Alex just sat there, and Joan's lips pulled into a straight line.

"I can drag you down if I must. You need food, and you never know when you will get it next," she stated.

Finally, Alex sprang to her feet, trying to be as intimidating as she could be. She was not sure if that was a threat, but it sounded like one. "Excuse me?" Alex wished that she was just a few inches taller and did not have tear stains on her cheeks. If that were the case, Joan may have actually gotten scared. Instead, she stood there, inches away from Alex, with an emotionless face and unreadable eyes.

"You think you can intimidate me? You have not seen what I have seen. You do not even appreciate all that you have. Whenever someone says something you do not like, you either shut them out or twist their words to fit what you want them to be. I knew _nothing_ about the real world." Joan pulled up her right sleeve past the elbow, showing a white scar on her forearm, inches below the inside of her elbow.

She paused for a moment as Alex's eyes turned towards the scar, and Joan then spoke though clenched teeth: "I had a microchip implanted under my skin when I was a child. _Everyone_ in my country did. It tracked our movements and recorded what we said, in case we said something that the government would not like. Did you ever wonder why I chose _Nineteen-Eighty-Four_ as the book we read in Book Club?" She paused, though Alex would not say anything. "I _lived_ it. Yet you wish to remain ignorant. Well, guess what: Ignorance will _kill_ you. Now come. I shall explain after dinner." She yanked down her sleeve.

Alex just watched as Joan walked towards the door and stopped, waiting for her to join. Theresa called their names again, but Alex, despite her growling stomach, did not feel like eating. How could Joan say that she could be _killed_ and then walk away? Alex wanted to wrestle her to the ground and _force_ the freak to tell her what was going on, but Alex had the odd feeling that Joan could easily take her in a fight despite looking so frail and like she'd be dependent on another to protect her. So Alex settled with the agreement this mysterious girl had made.

"Promise?"

Joan took her right pinky and made a circle on her forehead, at her third eye. Alex guessed that that was the equivalent to crossing her heart in wherever she was from, so Alex gave a nod, and the two went downstairs, just as Justin had gotten up from his seat. Alex was willing to bet that her mom had told him to go upstairs and get her and Joan before dinner got cold. The look Theresa gave Alex told her that she was right, and Justin sat down again. Sitting next to him was Harper, looking perfectly content with sitting next to the guy she'd had a crush on since kindergarten.

"Finally. Let's eat." Jerry leaned forward to get an enchilada, avoiding the vinaigrette salad his wife had also made. Max also got some of the cheesy food, but Justin, who had been working to eat healthier, just went for the salad and a twice-baked potato. Max got an enchilada and scrapped more cheese from the bottom to put up on it, but Theresa dropped a large helping of salad onto his plate before he could get himself a second enchilada.

"Eat it or no video games for a _month_." Theresa had been trying much harder to get Max to eat healthier. She had not been trying as hard with Alex. She guessed her mom had given up on Mission Impossible.

Wrinkling his nose, Max took a bite, making a look of utter disgust. Joan giggled and took a bite of her own salad. On her plate was a large helping of everything, and she nibbled on the cheese enchilada after a bite of salad. She gave a wide smile and told Theresa, "This is very good." Her voice was back to sounding as if she were having trouble speaking English.

Alex wondered why she did that. Did she want people to think she only knew little English? Alex heard she had been taking lessons during English class. Did she play the part of someone who had only been learning the language for a few months? Why? There were people who learned English in other countries, right? Just like how there were classes for Spanish, French, German, and Italian in school? So what with the charade?

The wizard had a tough time reading Joan's blue-violet eyes that sometimes seemed to glow from beneath her fringe bangs when the light hit them. Normally, they were full of guilelessness and mirth. But in her room, Alex had seen sorrow, anger, and fear in those shadowed eyes. What was Joan hiding behind that mask of hers? Alex was not the kind to bottle something up. She never saw the point. It made her feel horrible to allow something to fester in her heart, and it made her feel even _worse_ to have everyone around her go along as if everything were normal.

"What's Lithuania like?" asked Justin after taking a sip of water. "I'm taking AP European History, and I'd like to learn something about your culture. In my text book, it says that Lithuania established their kingdom in the thirteenth century and became the largest state in Europe in the fifteenth century, merging into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It also said that it then became a very formidable power."

Blinking, Joan politely nodded, but Alex noticed a spark of confusion. It was like she was thinking, _What the hell? I don't know any of this crap!_

Instead, however, she swallowed her bite of enchilada and replied, "Yes."

Simple. Alex just knew that Joan had no idea what Justin had been talking about. She wasn't the only one, but she should have known more if she really was who she said she was—at least, that was what Alex figured. She wasn't much of a history person, but even _she_ knew when her country had been founded. Okay… maybe not the exact date, but she knew the first established colony by the British thanks to _Pocahontas_.

"Isn't it bad enough I have to eat vegetables?" Max railed. "Now I have to have a history lesson about some country I've never heard of too?" He finished the last of his salad and began to eat his enchilada. He seemed to be enjoying it even more, now that it was getting rid of the taste of the salad.

"How do you like your food, Joan?" asked Theresa, trying to change the subject.

Joan swallowed another bite and responded, "Very good." Alex realized that she had said this before, but she guessed that her mom did not want to stay in the subject causing Max to say something inappropriate. She also saw that Joan was glad that the subject had been changed. Alex had even more questions, but they would have to wait.

"Mrs. Russo is an awesome cook," Harper boasted.

Theresa blushed, and Alex thought, _Joan's just probably happy to eat something besides cat food._ Alex would have laughed at that fact, but too many questions whirled within her mind, chocking out everything else. She was about to say something, but Justin was still going on about his stupid AP class.

"We started learning about the Magna Carta today. I'm so glad Mr. Laritate found a way to get funds for this class." Alex began to zone out after that, not interested at learning _more_ history.

In class today, Mrs. Cannon was back, so they went back to their original lessons. Mr. Laritate mostly went over material they learned last year to make sure everyone knew what they should, but they were supposed to be learning about World War I.

Finishing off her twice-baked potato, Alex vaguely heard Justin begin to ask Joan something when the water in his glass suddenly shot into his face, up his nose, and down his throat. Max began to laugh hysterically as Justin dropped his fork and began to cough violently. Alex stifled a laugh, and even Joan failed to hide her amused smile. Theresa and Jerry looked over at Max angrily, and his laughter slowly died down as he looked over at them with a "What did I do?" face. Jerry then looked over at Alex, but she gave him her own "Wasn't me," shrug. He raised an eyebrow to show that she better not be lying, and Alex exhaled sharply.

"I _didn't_ do it," Alex said seriously. Harper looked over at her, patting Justin on the back as his coughs lessened. He began to breathe normally again, and Alex promised, "Water manipulation is like… five chapters from where I am right now."

Tilting her head to the left, Joan blinked twice, looking bewildered. Theresa quickly explained, "Alex and Max are amateur magicians, and they like to practice a lot, especially around guests."

Smiling again, Joan nodded in understanding. Alex had a feeling that it was Joan who had done that to Justin, not wanting him to ask more questions she couldn't answer. This was one of her mom's stupidest lies yet, but Joan looked as if she bought it. There was no way even someone of _Max's_ intelligence would have bought that.

The family began to eat again, and Justin got up to get another glass of water. Not many other conversations passed between the seven, and as soon as Alex was finished with her second helping of enchiladas and potatoes, she looked over at Joan, seeing that she ate slowly, having eaten just as much—if not more—than Alex. Harper had been done for a while now, and Alex excused herself.

Looking up, Joan looked into Alex's eyes and gave a slight nod. She then finished the rest of her food. "Thank you very much." After getting up, Joan gave a respectful bow.

Alex had her eyebrows raised at the odd display but then shrugged and turned. "Coming, Harper?" She half-hoped that the answer would be "No."

"No, thanks," Harper answered. "I have to go home." She did not elaborate, but Alex guessed that it had to do with her parents again.

She didn't know why they didn't just get a divorce, but Harper had explained that her family didn't believe in divorce. Also, Harper told her that even with all the fighting, her dad knew that her mom would not be able to live even relatively well on her paycheck alone. That was pretty much the only reason the two were still together, but Alex still felt bad that Harper was caught in the middle.

Harper left, and Alex went upstairs, Joan at her heels. The two were silent as the others continued on with their conversation, the words barely making it to Alex's ears. Her mind was on other things. _Joan better have all the answers I want._ She got ready to stay up through the night.


	8. The Tower

**Chapter 8: The Tower**

"_Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious." - from 1984_

Inside her room, Alex pushed Joan into the desk chair, a squeak escaping from between Joan's thin, red lips. She straightened herself up and said nothing about the shove. Her hands folded neatly onto her lap, and Alex sat on her bed, arms extended behind her to keep her propped up. Alex's heart was racing, but she had no idea why she should feel nervous. The whole dinner had gone by without anyone asking Alex what was wrong. She guessed that they wanted to avoid uncomfortable discussions in light of the guest. Alex sat there in silence for a while, wondering what questions she should start with.

The redhead watched her with a calm gaze, and Alex finally shouted, "Will you _stop_ it already?!" She was sure someone from downstairs—maybe even from the street below—had heard her.

Joan definitely heard her. The corners of her mouth fell into a steady frown, and her head tilted to the left slightly. "Stop what?" Her voice was small as if afraid of setting Alex off again. Her eyes began to shine like forming tears, but she blinked long and hard, forcing them back.

Swallowing, Alex wanted to know what this girl was hiding, but she needed to start somewhere. "Smiling… looking so calm… telling me something and then suddenly changing the subject!"

When Joan placed her index finger over her lips, Alex understood that she needed to quiet down.

After a few deep breaths, the Latina demanded, "What's with this happy act? All you do is smile, like there's nothing wrong, but something is _seriously_ wrong."

Sighing, Joan nodded. "I like to think that nothing is wrong. After all that I had gone through, doing so keeps me sane. Even if it is only a little." She gave a humorless chuckle. "I still jump whenever I see a police officer. Whenever I get a grade lower than a B, I still flinch and brace myself, getting ready for the painful sting of a teacher's _naw llosgwrn_."

A tear broke free, but Joan quickly wiped it away and steadied her breath before continuing: "I still feel the shocks the microchip sent me whenever I swam too far away from the shore or said something I wasn't supposed to. I still fear to speak, because we were not allowed to have opinions of our own. It gives way to choice, and that's one of the worst sins." She paused, her eyes glazed over as if she were no longer seeing Alex and instead seeing her home again, cold and cruel. "I can still feel the pain of the lashing from the _naw llosgwrn_ on my back when I failed one of my classes. _Failed_. It got me six lashes."

Wiping her eyes, Alex found that a couple of her own tears had begun to fall. Joan just looked so vulnerable now. Alex waited as Joan wiped her eyes before questioning, "What's a _naw llosgwrn_?" Alex was sure she butchered the words but did not care.

Blinking, Joan returned to the present. "A type of whip, but there are nine, thin pieces of leather with small balls of thorns on the ends of all of them." Joan wiped her eyes. "They whipped me with one the summer after I failed my class. Teachers all also have a smaller version of one, but without the thorns. We get one whipping on the arms for every bad test grade or if we fail to bring in our homework or just break any rules in general." She swallowed and began to calm down. "Failure was unacceptable. We were brought into the world for a purpose, and it was to serve our leader and nation. We did not even get to choose our careers. 'Free choice is the first step to anarchy' is what they told us."

She paused again and then began to speak more softly. "I believed them and trusted their judgment—mostly. I believed that I deserved to be whipped. I showed the town those scars for eight days, the bitter wind making them heal even more slowly—as it was the second part of my punishment. My _tėvas_ was very angry at both me and them—them for punishing me 'unjustly' and me for taking it without a word. I told him that it was my fault—the police only followed orders. Then I hear from Anwen that her grandmother once told her that Chatadom was not always like that. I did not believe her at first. I did not want to speak of that and risk more punishment." Joan finally met her eyes. "Could you _possibly_ imagine going through that life?"

Eyes falling to the floor, Alex slowly shook her head. She tried to imagine that sort of life, but it was hard to do so.

"Do you know what we had to do during the anthem in Chatadom?"

Joan's quiet words stirred Alex out of her thoughts. She looked over at Joan, who now had her knees to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs. Her chin lay on her knees, and she did not make eye contact with Alex.

"We got on our knees and bowed to the flag. We knelt with our hands beneath our hearts, palms up. It shows that we are giving our heart, and by getting on our knees, it says that we are surrendering ourselves to our leader. Surrendering our very souls—if you believed in such things, which most in my country did not. We surrendered our hearts—_souls_—to a mortal. A man that has only birthright above us and nothing else. I had never questioned it, though. I was a zombie. Like so many of my people." She gave another humorless laugh that chilled Alex. "Who would have thought that it would have been I to help lead the rebellion?" More tears fell. "Me, a mindless, ambitionless zombie who feared speaking out more than even death."

Alex was not sure what to say about that. She wanted desperately to say that she would not have been afraid, that she would have given everything to fight against that oppression, but she was sure she would have been lying.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. Alex had not wanted to bring this all up. She did not want to remind Joan of her once-crappy life. "What about my dreams… flashbacks? Why are you here?" Alex was sure the last question made her sound ungrateful or rude, which was not her intention.

Unoffended, Joan looked over at Alex, meeting her eyes once again as she placed her feet back onto the floor and straightened up. "I am here to help you learn. I have tried to do so with responsibility, though that has not worked out as well as I had first intended. Truth be told, I was afraid to come here. When I was told to come and be a guardian of the great Seraphina Sataruskasenka, I thought that they were joking. I mean—"

"Please don't call me that." Her words were forceful, eyes on the ground and unblinking. Alex's arms felt weak, and she pushed herself up off of them, leaning forward.

She shook, and her lips were parted slightly. Alex did not want it to be true. She could _not_ be Seraphina. And why would she be _great_? She killed Juliette. She tried to _steal_ her _soul_!

Alex could _not_ be Seraphina. She was Alexandra Margarita Russo, daughter of Jerry and Theresa Russo. No one else!

Joan caught Alex's horror and said her next words even more slowly as to get it through Alex's thick skull. "Your name is Seraphina Nirabellascholla Sataruskasenka. Those were no ordinary dreams. They are memories. What was the last thing you saw?"

The sound of metal on metal barreled into Alex's ears as the horrible stench of death took hold of her nose. Gagging and coughing, Alex barely made it to the trashcan before vomiting into it. Joan was by her side at an instant, holding her hair and patting her back. Groaning, Alex sat up and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. Joan held her hands up, an orb of water forming just above her palms. Looking at the orb for about the minute, Alex's mouth opened, and the orb formed into a steady stream that filled her mouth. She gargled and spat into the waste basket.

Wiping her mouth again, Alex crossed her legs. "There was a battle. It was in some old castle-looking place. It was in some place called Tartarus. I did not hear someone say the name. I just knew it. But I don't really know what it is. Seraphina—I—killed three people, one with black fire that covered the sword blade. Atol was there too. Then, at the end, some scary guy named Set arrives in this explosion and threatens Seraphina… me." The _I_ and _me_ were partial whispers, Alex's voice shaking like a leaf caught in winter's strong gales.

"Have you not wondered what he did? Or what it was you did to make him so angry?" Joan crouched in front of Alex, looking sincere.

She really did want to help. She was just broken from all the crap that had been thrust upon her in the past. Alex wondered, when something broke, could it be put together exactly the same as before? Or would the cracks be obvious? If so, how broken had Alex been before her family had worked to fix her? These questions brought up another important one she was sure she knew the answer to: Was she adopted?

Swallowing, Alex tried not to think too deeply about the details of her dreams. _They're unimportant_, she told herself. "I have a feeling that you'll tell me."

"Contrary to your belief, I do not know all the answers," Joan informed, "but I _do_ know that you made Set angry making those of the Four Evils distrustful of one-another, and you got a few spies and warriors from the Purities to help you do so. You were trying to drive a stake between the Four Evils. Divide and conquer. It was a good strategy."

"Four Evils? Purities? And do you really expect me… a _killer_…" Alex looked down, not having to finish. She was beginning to loathe herself.

"I do," responded Joan sincerely. "There are four major evil groups that came up from the Akanolatah: The Undead, who attack the physical body; the Etamitlu Live, who attack the mind; the Thres Armani, who attack the spirit; and the Unspeakables, who attack the soul. There are also the Purities, who—contrary to their name—are not all about beating evil once and for all. They are about keeping the balance within the cosmos. The Four Evils reside within Tartarus, whereas the Purities reside within Celetsiakami."

"Oh my god…." Alex was not sure if it was possible to have her brain explode from too much information, but she felt like she was about to find out.

"I'm sorry this is coming at you all at once." Joan gave a small sigh. "Just a few more things: There are four major mortal dimensions, Throth being the one I am from. This one is called Mzrisknu." She saw Alex's eyebrows knit in puzzlement and said the word more slowly: "Miz-riss-kin-oo." She went over the 'kin' very quickly so that it merged with the 'oo', and Alex repeated it.

"Right, and each dimension has a 'god' I guess you could call them, but their title is actually 'Einharun'."

"Eyen-har-oon," repeated Alex, remembering that word from one of the dreams—memories.

"Only, Mzrisknu is special in that it has two Einharuns instead of one: Nirabella and Terrask Sataruskasenka. They are your birth parents."

That last part threw Alex through a loop.

That had been set on fire.

"Wh-what?" _She_ was the daughter of these people who were like freaking _gods_ of this dimension?! Alex was getting a flashback from the time she watched _Hercules_ with Justin when they were younger—this was before the monster under the bed incident.

Brushing her bangs back just to have them fall back over her eyes, Joan answered, "They're your biological mother and father. I know this is a lot of information, so you should probably sleep on what I have already told you. You have to get up for school tomorrow, anyway."

"Yeah, but I want to skip school tomorrow to ask you more questions," Alex argued. "And before I go to bed, one more question: What did Set do to Seraphina?" Alex knew that this question had been mentioned before, but Joan had never answered it.

Looking away for a moment, Joan took a deep breath. She did not look of someone who did not want to say this information out loud, as Alex had first feared. She looked more like she was thinking through the information, trying to get all of the facts right. Finally, she looked back at Alex and blinked, looking almost surprised.

"He first thought about killing you, but your soul was still with the Einharuns, so they could have you rescued, keep you from being stained completely and for always. That was considered a big risk by many Unspeakables, butyou were also too valuable to dispose of, no matter how big your 'infraction'. So he imprisoned you and put you through unspeakable torture for nearly three Earth years before finally having someone take you away and bring you here—as a baby. That was when you were found by your—" Joan's eyebrows met, and she leaned forward, looking into Alex's eyes. Alex leaned away, but Joan just stared at her. After a moment, she leaned back, her eyes quizzical. "You aren't Seraphina."

"I thought you said I was." Alex was shocked that she actually sounded disappointed. She should be over the moon with joy!

"You are," Joan assured, confusing Alex even more, "but you are not at the same time. I am not sure how to explain it, but as you were being raised as Alex Russo, the Seraphina Senka that had been raised in Tartarus must have been pushed into the back of your mind, forming a separate personality—or something of that sort. That may be why the memories have been coming back so violently." Joan closed her eyes as she grunted, fingers going to her temples. "Why did I not realize this before?"

The news was like a ton of bricks being dropped onto Alex's head. "What?! What does that mean?" Alex had heard of _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_, but she never knew what exactly happened. She knew it had something to do with some doctor with a different personality, which was evil.

Would Seraphina come out at random times and ruin Alex's life? Alex was not sure what to make of this. Alex wasn't exactly the nicest person around, but she wasn't a killer like that zolak-gai.

"I do not know exactly," Joan admitted. "I do not know of any of this ever happening before. Go to bed. I will contact the High Commander of the Purities and ask her what is going on and how we should proceed." She got up and went into Alex's closet, digging through the pile of clothing Alex was supposed to give to Good Will but never got around to. (That must have been where Joan got her wardrobe.)

"What are you doing?" Alex saw Joan bring out her tote bag from the bottom of the bag. "That's where you hide your backpack?" Alex was almost shocked that she had never found it before, though she probably shouldn't be from how rarely she cleaned it. Even with her clothes, she usually just kept 'dirty' and 'clean' piles next to her bed, by the window.

"Yes." From it, Joan got out what looked like a small, metal notebook that was just a little larger than her hand. She went towards the door. "Your parents still know I am here. I will go downstairs and speak to High Commander Landon and come back up when I have answers. May the stars guard your dreams."

Watching Joan leave her room, Alex wondered what that last sentence meant. _Must be her country's version of 'Good night' or 'Sweet dreams'._

Alex then got her pajamas and went out into the hallway. She could hear plates being placed into the sink as two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs. Alex got into the bathroom quickly before either of her brothers could hog it, but she then paused as she stood in front of the mirror. Alex realized why Joan had looked surprised earlier: Staring back at her was a pair of eyes the color of quicksilver.


	9. Three of Wands

**Chapter 9: Three of Wands**

"_There's light enough for what I've got to do." - from Oliver Twist_

The only sound filling the night air were birds chirping, small mammals scurrying about, and other usual sounds that made up the forest's beautiful music. The thick canopy blotted out much of the inky sky decorated with the scattered tears of Nyx, Guardian of the Night. Selene's chariot was high in the sky, full and raining down delicate light that seemed to bring hope to all it touched.

Taking deep breaths to keep her heartbeat under control, Seraphina looked up at the moon momentarily before her eyes settled back upon the Kinsama leading her towards the meeting place. This was the Wildlife Kinsama, her skin the color of snow with the palest of blues coloring her skin in tiger-like stripes that seemed to almost glow in the pale light of the moon where it found places to trickle down through the leaves.

Her thick, wild hair was silver, grown just past her bony hips, which swung as she walked with her long legs; they were like that of a dog's or cat's, bending the opposite way of Seraphina's knees. Her long tail with the silver tuff of fur at the end swished back and forth with the tempo of her steps. Her arms were long, and her spine was curved delicately, large and round chest out. If need be, the Kinsama could get on all fours and run with the grace of a wildcat. Neither she nor Seraphina made a sound as they walked.

After some time, the two reached massive tree; the Kinsama finally stopped, turning around in a fluid motion. Her bright, golden-yellow eyes narrowed, her vertical pupils narrowing simultaneously with her lids. Her tiny, upturned nose wrinkled, and her thin, pale blue lips were in a steady frown. Blue marked her eyelids, going up to her temples in a point. Three more stripes also marked her cheeks like whiskers, and there was a diamond-shape marking her forehead right above the brow line.

Only a crimson scar that went from her left temple down her jaw marred her heart-shaped face. Her ears were long—maybe a half-inch longer than a Troll's, but instead of curving downward, the tips pointed upwards. She cocked a hip and placed her hands on her waist, showing her long, sharp blue nails, and she lifted her head, showing another scar that went from the right side of her neck down passed the left side of her collar bone and disappearing into the strip of lavender cloth tied over her breasts. It matched the cloth tied around her hips, and showed off the healing gash over her stomach that crawled up her ribs.

"If you try _anything_—"

"I won't." Seraphina's voice was a monotone. She refused to be intimidated by a Kinsama. "You may not trust me, but I'm the best chance you have. Look at it this way: If I _do_ try anything, all you have to do is kill me. It's not like I'm immortal."

Baring her fangs, the Kinsama hissed, "Don't think I won't hesitate."

"Of course." Seraphina watched as the Kinsama turned back around and whispered in an ancient tongue, palm pressing up against the wood of the giant tree. An arch formed, and the Kinsama stepped aside, motioning for Seraphina to enter. She did so, the Kinsama only steps behind her. The arch disappeared behind them.

The tree was mostly hollow, a spiral staircase in the center, leading up to a landing possibly forty feet up. Seraphina walked up the stairs briskly with her watchdog following her in silence. That was just fine with her. The person she wanted to speak to was already on the landing, waiting at the table. His scent flowed into her nostrils before she saw him: it was the scent of a forest right after it rained; there was also a strong mint scent swirling around it. It was more welcoming than the spicy and metallic scent of the Kinsama behind her. The scent of cayenne pepper, paprika, and old copper had made Seraphina wrinkle her nose.

"_Dobroy nochi_, _Seraphina.__Kak vashi dela_?" The voice came from a tall man that looked to be in his early thirties sitting in a chair at a table, a wooden bowl of blackberries and blueberries as well as a cup of black tea sitting next to him. His chair was turned so he could face the stairway, his peridot eyes sparkling in the dim light of the two white candles set on the table. He motioned towards the empty chair at the table, which Seraphina took, turning to face him as she popped a blackberry into her mouth.

"Good night, indeed, High Commander Vyshinsky. I'm well, but this is no time for small talk." Listening as the Kinsama took her position near the wall behind her, Seraphina looked over the Vampire, his double-tipped ears mostly hidden by his platinum blonde hair that hung well past his broad shoulders. He had a prominent nose, high forehead, and square jaw, and his skin had an alabaster complexion. His thin lips were turned in a half-smile, and he was only half-turned towards Seraphina, showing that he did not suspect her of foul play. However, Seraphina would not put it past him to have knives hidden in his boots or in the long, deep green sleeves of his tunic.

"Please," he said, picking up his cup of tea, "call me Ivan. You need not be so formal with me, if I am not with you." He took a long sip, and the subtle hint of a smoky flavor wafted into Seraphina's nostrils and settled on her tongue. "Would you like a cup?"

"If it's not too much trouble." Seraphina gave a smile. "I believe our planning will take the majority of the night if not longer. Truthfully, I am surprised the Kinsama is your only protection. It is normally against the better judgment of anyone in your high position to see someone like me alone."

Laughing, Ivan pushed himself out of his chair as the Kinsama gave a low growl. "It is alright, Masiarka." He went over to the opposite wall, where there was a wooden stove, an iron kettle lying on top of it. The fire within the stove cast a red glow over his tunic and sheathed sword. After placing a few pinches of dried, black leaves into a cup from the counter next to the stove, he filled the cup with boiling water and brought the tea over to Seraphina, who grasped the cup with both hands.

"Most people strain the leaves."

"That just makes it harder to give you a reading." Ivan popped a few berries into his mouth. "I prefer to use rune stones, but I had forgotten to bring them with me." He watched Seraphina drink some of her tea. "To answer your thoughts, Masiarka is not my only protection. We need you, not trust you. I have men positioned in the forest, and of course my archers." Ivan motioned towards the ceiling, and Seraphina looked up, seeing four archers sitting on ledges two feet below the high ceiling, holding crossbows pointed at her. Two were fair-skinned Elves, one was an orange-skinned Troll, and one was an Ogre with dark blue flesh.

Giving a chuckle, Seraphina looked back at Ivan and took another sip of her tea. "Now, let's get to business. The Evils have already obtained the Gem of Center. I understand that the Purities have obtained the Gem of Desire, correct?"

Ivan nodded as he finished his tea. "I seem to remember Bria fighting you over it. She nearly stabbed you in the heart, _da_?" Eyes closed, he stirred the tea leaves left at the bottom of the cup before setting it back on the table upside-down.

"I've had worse wounds in practice, but yes. Now, I can get you the Gem of Center if you help me with this. I hope this war in Tartarus will create a wedge between the Four Evils as well as the leaders. Many are already untrusting of one-another. This will just push them all over the edge. We start the revolt within Lietmat. It will then radiate outward to the other three realms. The chaos created will stop them from fully taking Throth, which is the first dimension the Evils had set their sights upon." Seraphina blew on her tea before taking another sip.

Tapping on the table's surface with the index finger of his right hand, Ivan thought for a while. "It sounds wonderful, and I have no doubt you have thought of all the details to make sure you succeed. However, I wonder of your true intentions." He met Seraphina's eyes as she drank her tea. "You've had no qualms about killing my spies, warriors, protectors, or scouts in the past. You disown your heritage, refusing to even be called Seraphina … Idolon."

"I allow you to call me Seraphina now. Is it not enough that I wish to repent? That, even without a soul, I feel guilt for all I've done? All the lives and souls I've taken? Many of you believe we Unspeakables are so willing to take the souls of others because we so long for our own. Is this not what you believe?" Seraphina set down her cup. "You know just as well as I that my soul still resides within Avalon, and I wish to retrieve it. I believe that this is the way to do so."

"Ah." He stretched out the word and motioned for Seraphina to keep drinking, which she did. "This is more than merely helping us or helping those you had hurt. True, that may be there, but it is beneath your desire to reacquire your soul. You see, I do not believe one without a soul can feel guilt or regret. Your eyes are blank, and your face is neutral. If there is any shred of guilt with you for what you've done to me—as you must realize that killing those in the Purities is like killing my own flesh and blood—then it cannot be seen."

Finishing the tea, Seraphina set down her cup and twirled her finger among the tea leaves just as Ivan had done. She then set the cup upside-down onto the table and locked onto the Vampire's eyes. "Yes, that is true. Does that make this any less noble? Does it make me selfish to desire my soul? To desire to fully feel the guilt I know is there? Contrary to your belief, absence of a soul does not mean we also have an absence of spirit, the natural connection between the body, mind, and soul. I _can_ feel guilt, but it is only a shadow of it. Many of my emotions are behind a wall. I can only get the briefest feeling of them. I can only _fully _feel hate and anger. Happiness is only obtained when I cause pain—and even then, it is not in full. Is it selfish to no longer want this? Is it selfish to desire happiness and love? If so, then I'll live with it. At least then the emotions I will feel can be true."

"Love?" A smirk played over Ivan's lips. "Your voice quivered as you spoke that word, but I do not believe it is because it is such a powerful emotion you have been robbed of since your kidnapping. There is a specific reason you wish to feel it, am I correct?"

Silence stretched on, and Seraphina faintly heard the sounds of Masiarka breathing. She also smelled the anxiety coming off of the archers. They probably had no idea what to expect from the zolak-gai sitting before their High Commander. She guessed that they thought this meeting to be a horrible idea and resisted the urge to just shoot her down at that very moment. Seraphina would not put it past the Troll to shoot her first. She could not read any of their blocked thoughts, but she did not need to. The Troll's amber eyes were narrowed suspiciously, his muscles tense. Red-orange hair was slicked back, a few stubborn strands lying over his tangerine forehead. The Elf with tawny eyes and sand-colored hair that was cut close to his scalp was equally tensed, the other Elf and Ogre looking to be debating between shooting her now and obeying orders.

Looking back at Ivan, Seraphina placed her hands on the table, her right hand squeezing the left. "His name is Atol Sataruskasenka."

Smiling, Ivan nodded once. "Ah, yes, another child of an Einharun that had been corrupted. You cannot feel love now, so how is it you know you would have any real feelings for him? And to wish to love him… how is it you have feelings for him now? Is it that 'shadow' of emotion you feel? You feel that 'shadow' when you are around him?"

"I believe I do. Many people discard emotion or take it for granted because they live through it each day. Many try to hide it when it turns for the extreme because they think it shows weakness." Seraphina paused. "We Unspeakables—as well as the Thres Armani, as I am told by some—relish in the bursts of emotion we rarely receive, just as the Undead relish in pain whenever they so are able to find it or just as the Etamitlu Live relish in logic during their rare scenes of sanity. It is like a drug, emotion. A drug that comes with a high price."

"A price you force others to pay," hissed Masiarka.

Seraphina ignored her. "Yet, in between these bursts of the emotion we receive, there are those shadows. They are pale, and are like substitutes for the drug. Or maybe rations, given to us so we are reminded what it is we strive for and will kill for. It is in many of those shadows I feel a type of happiness that is different than any kind I have received from any kill. It's… a different kind of drug, but not strong enough to sate my desires. Those shadows only appear over me when I am with him. I'd stay with him to stay within those shadows. He is suitable, I guess. I began examining him. He tended to be quiet, always thinking. We were brought together by Set, as we were both the children of Einharuns and very powerful. We did not like each other, but we were forced to work together nonetheless." Closing her mouth abruptly, Seraphina became quiet. This man did not need to know about her life.

"There is more."

"You do not need to know of my life or my intentions. You only need to know of my plan that can help the both of us."

"And Atol."

Seraphina was quiet, and Ivan reached for her cup. Many of the tea leaves had fallen onto the table, but some had stuck to the bottom of the cup. He inspected it, a thoughtful look in his bright eyes. "It mostly resembles a dagger pointed towards an octopus. Now, an octopus represents danger, but that should not come as a surprise. Similarly, the dagger tells you to beware, but whether you must beware of yourself or others is unclear. It is most likely both." He set the cup back down and looked at his own. He only inspected it for a moment before setting it back down.

"What was it?" Seraphina was genuinely curious. Ivan's smile had fallen as he gazed at the tea leaves, and there had been a knowing glow to his eyes. It was almost as if he had expected the tea leaves to arrange in that pattern.

"It's nothing of your concern," said Ivan waving the question away. "We must speak now of the revolt. I understand you wish for my spies already in Tartarus as well as twenty of my warriors to help you out?"

"Yes." In a swift motion, Seraphina snatched up the cup, and had her neck in a headlock by the Kinsama, the other hand pressing against the side of Seraphina's head as if ready to snap her neck. "I mean not harm to the High Commander, Kinsama. It was merely curiosity that drove me to taking his cup." Seraphina made no move to get out of the hold, silver hair brushing the side of her face. "Please release me." She tried to stay patient, but her nails had left marks on the cup from the suddenness of the Kinsama's movement. She was just glad that none of the archers had fired.

Masiarka looked over at Ivan for an order, and when he gave a single nod, she took her hands off of Seraphina and stepped back to her post. "Remember that we are ready to kill you at any moment, zolig." Her cat-like eyes bore into the back of Seraphina's head, fingers curling into fists.

"Understood." Seraphina looked at the tea leaves in the bottom of Ivan's teacup, lips twitching as she gazed at the mask and what resembled a cat's head. "Why, Ivan," she looked up at him, handing over the cup, "you do not think I would betray you, do you?"

Taking the cup from her, Ivan popped a few more berries into his mouth, swallowing before he answered. "You cannot expect an absence of suspicion. You are not as smart as I have given you credit for if you did. However, reading your own fortune is not advised, as it is difficult to do so objectively. It may be speaking of you, or even one of my own people." Masiarka's eyes snapped up at him at that sentence. "Now, Masiarka, you must realize that because we are able to have spies in Tartarus, it is very likely there could be Evils lurking within Celetsiakami. If not, how had they ever made it to Avalon in the first place to kidnap Seraphina here?"

Sighing, the Kinsama merely nodded, and Ivan looked back at Seraphina. "Speaking of which, you have more to offer than just the Gem of Center, _da_?"

"You wish to know my knowledge of the spies sent to Celetsiakami."

"It is a reasonable request."

"Of course." Seraphina took a breath, and, again, Masiarka tensed. "I only know a few names, but I do not know which have already been found out, if any had." Closing her eyes to think, Seraphina recited the names. "Lukas Andreou, a Magician from Lotusimas; Ari Hermannsson, an Azizir from Mzrisknu; Ka-Ling Hui, a Tigrite from Throth; Aleksandar Botev, a Nymph from Lotusimas; and Asad Samatar, a Sprite from Niolak." Seraphina opened her eyes. "I do not know if they changed their names, and I have never met them."

"That is alright. The names should be plenty of help. Now, let us finally get to what it is you came up here for before anyone in Tartarus gets suspicious, shall we?" Ivan pushed away the cups and bowl of fruit, getting out a rolled up piece of parchment from the inside of his boot. Spreading it over the table, Seraphina saw that due to the Purities spies, a map of Tartarus had been made. She wasn't surprised, but the detail was fairly amazing.

"I start here." Seraphina pointed to a specific spot in Lietmat, which was the bottom left square of Tartarus. "Have the spies ready, and the warriors will come in through a portal Atol and I will create. You may choose where your entrance to the portal is if you do not trust me still. Of course, you must realize that there is every possibility of fatalities. No one will know who is on what side. As I said previously, it will be utter chaos. Your warriors will look like other Evils. They cannot know that the Purities are involved if this is to work well."

Nodding, Ivan looked over the map. "My men are fully aware of the risks they face, and I will inform them of their roles. Who is it you plan to make the Unspeakables think attacked them?"

"Themselves." Seraphina smiled sinisterly. "The instability will be enough to topple Set's power, making the other leaders suspicious of their own followers. Many a nation has fallen because the leader was too paranoid of keeping their absolute power. Tartarus will be no different."

**xxx**

Coughing, Alex slowly pushed herself up off of the cold, linoleum floor. Her knotted hair fanned around her aching head, and she could barely see through the dark stars in her vision. As they began to clear, Alex reached up for the countertop and pulled herself up with shaky arms. This time, Alex was not shocked when she looked into the mirror. Her skin was not the desert-nomad dark of the woman in those memories, but it was at least two shades darker than usual.

Alex began thinking about this latest dream, deciding that it was some time before going after Juliette, and new questions were added to her list. Was that the Ivan Atol and Seraphina had spoken of in one of Alex's other dreams? What _was_ that woman who looked ready to tear Seraphina's head off? She had been called a Kinsama. What were Kinsamas? Why did that one guy have orange skin and another have blue skin? Was Seraphina really good? Alex couldn't see anything as black and white anymore. Everything was shrouded in grey, making it all blurry and hard to interpret. It gave her a headache.

"How long will it be until I sprout wings?" Alex's voice held no humor, though she had tried. She needed some grasp of happiness. All she felt like she had done lately is cry… and feel confused. She hated those feelings. Putting her head in the sink, Alex turned on the water and wet her hair. No doubt everyone would notice that she was changing, but Alex wanted to put off the explanation as long as she could.

Opening one of the drawers, Alex got out her brush and worked through her hair, thinking about her next move. How could she learn more?

Did she just think that? Blinking hard, Alex shook her head and tossed her head over her back. She brushed it flat, her nose beginning to tickle. She sneezed and stopped brushing her hair.

Staring at herself in the mirror, Alex remembered back in chemistry class when she had sneezed. The first thought through her head was, _Someone's talking about me_. She had looked over at Joan and saw her writing something down. Joan had said that she was writing a letter to her friends, but was that the truth? Joan said that she nearing the path to insanity. Alex knew that Harper sometimes was like that with all of the secrets she had to keep for Alex and her family. She dealt with it by keeping a diary.

Harper had once said, "It's not just about your secrets. It's my family and all my emotions and wishes. Writing things down helps me when I feel like I'm about to explode. When you keep everything bottled in, every little thing shakes the bottle, making the pressure too much to keep in any longer." It was one of those desperate times when Alex had actually gone to Harper's house and had found the leather-bound notebook under her mattress.

"Maybe Joan keeps a diary." Getting a towel, Alex placed it on her head, wrapping it like a make-shift hijab. It didn't look very good, and the towel jutted over her face to cast a shadowy effect. However, that was what she had wanted, and Alex hurried over to her room. Justin called her name, but Alex did not even hesitate as she darted into her room and slammed the door shut. Quickly snatching up her wand, Alex pointed it at her door.

"For now I wish to be alone, so keep others out. This is my haven, so allow me this wish beyond any doubt." Alex gave a flick of her wand, the comforting spark of shining crimson flying towards the door and coving the dark wood. Alex also gave another flick of her wand, making sure to put in a spell lock. She did not want Justin casting a counter spell and entering uninvited.

"Alex! We need to talk!" shouted Justin from outside. Alex heard the distinctive dying sound of a wand when it met a spell lock. "What the—Alex!"

Ignoring her brother's pleas, Alex found Joan's tote bag and dragged out a dark violet binder with something written on the spine. It was in shiny silver ink, and the writing looked like some weird markings. Alex guessed that this was the alphabet used in Chatadom, but Alex needed to be able to read it. Sighing, Alex took gripped her wand and opened the binder. The same, odd markings were connected in a cursive-like manner, and the writing was tiny and would probably be difficult to read even if it _was_ in English.

"I do not know the language written on this page, so show me subtitles and…" Alex thought for a moment about a rhyme and finished with, "get me out of this one-language cage." Alex was not sure if it made a whole bunch of sense, but it must have, because words the shade of vermillion lit up the air before Alex in a more legible fashion. There was a word here and there that Alex had never heard of, but she guessed that either some words had no English translations.

Clearing her throat, Alex began to read aloud, whispering the words. "'Dear Catrin…'"


	10. Nine of Swords

**Chapter 10: Nine of Swords**

"_Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot." - from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_

_Dear Catrin,_

_Do not rip this up. Do not throw this journal into the fire place and watch it burn, pretending that it is me. There is a very good reason why I have disappeared, and if you have bothered to read the journals I sent to Rožė, Hadzir, and Dew, then you know of my present situation. However, I know you, and I am guessing that you were too angry with my betrayal and dishonor to even utter my name without biting your thumb and spitting. Yet, if you have bothered, then it is likely you are still angry with the lack of action on my part when you and the others are caught in the middle of a frenzied storm. _

_I would not blame you for cursing my name. I had even thought about writing my name down on parchment paper and burning it in a Dark Flame. Maybe I should, but I fear what would happen. Are the stories true? It does not matter, I guess. I deserve it for leaving all of you, right? For starting something and not even bothering to carry it out when I knew much more about the conspiracies than you? Yes, I did not do it alone. Zumreta, Hana, Chandani, Desdemona, Keric, and some others put in all they had to make the revolt happen. _

_Can I call it a revolt with what happened? We defied the laws to try and bring freedom, yes, but can it be called a revolt when only one step was taken? Is it all happening now? Or were you all stomped down and I am sending this to you in a prison cell, waiting to be brought to the firing squad? I pray to those Up High that it is not so. I need to believe that the revolution is happening—__will__ happen. I don't know. I need to believe that there is hope for Chatadom. I need to know: Has the revolution started yet?_

_Yet._

_From where I am—__when__ I am—the revolution has not yet been thought of. __We__—even our __great__-grandparents—have not been thought of yet. No, Catlin, I am not hallucinating. I really have traveled back in time and to a different dimension, but it was not by myself. You have always known that I have always had a gift when it came to time: I never missed a beat with my music; I always knew exactly when to leave to be right on time, or which paths to take to make sure I was on time; I could tell you the time down to the second without even looking at a clock; and I was fast. That last one may not seem relevant, but Time-benders (that is what Keric called us) are always fast. As we run (or fly in Zumreta's case and swim in my case), we are able to "bend" time around us, but only slightly and only for a few fleeting moments. We also always feel exhausted afterwards. You may remember those days I just lie in bed, unable to get up due to an unaccountable exhaustion._

_So who did I get help from? Their names are Nirabella and Terrask (he goes by Ter, though) Sataruskasenka. Just as Kyanallae watches over us, Nirabella and Ter watch over Mzrisknu. They asked me to watch over their daughter, Seraphina. They asked me to help her train, help her work with her memories, which should start appearing soon (though none have shown up as of yet), and basically be her guardian. At first I thought they were joking. _

_Me__, be the guardian of Seraphina Sataruskasenka? She is known even in __our__ dimension. Powerful, the legends say. Beautiful, her images show. Intelligent, it has been recorded. A survivor, everyone knew. She led armies; she orchestrated a rebellion within the Evils, creating greater discrimination, distrust, and suspicion within the Evils than before. What have I done that has not been already mentioned? I played the violin and guitar. I sang. I painted. I did enough in core classes to not get whipped. I abandoned what I started._

_I am __so__ sorry._

_This eats me up inside. I am not needed here. Alex may not seem exactly as the legends depict Seraphina, but she has heart. She is strong physically, mentally, and magically. She is a quick thinker and very resourceful. What could I be able to do? I have nothing to give except bits of information, which she will receive on her own. If anything, it would be __I__ who learns from __her__. _

_She orchestrated the rebellion in Tartarus. After she receives her memories, maybe she will tell me how we can free Chatadom. At least I hope I will get there in time for that, but you never know. It is possible that I come back the very second as I had left, leaving my journals only as memories of what had happened outside of your time. I can only hope, but this knowledge does not help. My father says it does no good to worry about what we cannot change, but it is hard. I have not picked up a violin or guitar since I left. I only open my mouth to speak, but I prefer to keep it closed. I cannot sing. I cannot play. Too many reminders to what I had left behind. I would have turned away from music, but in this house, it is impossible to get away from it. Justin plays the guitar. Alex plays the drums. Theresa used to be in a band. Everyone always has music playing. I am so thankful that cats cannot cry. Otherwise I may have disgraced my name even further—if that is even possible._

_Alright, it is time to stop feeling sorry for what I cannot change. I only wanted you to know how bad I feel. The rest of this journal will be what is going on here in the city. I may not be able to write every single day, but you will receive this journal after the month is over. For now, though, I have to bring this letter to a close. I think I hear Alex coming up from her "wizard lessons." May Ishkur be with you._

_Svajonė_

Alex sat back, the vermillion letters fading away. It sounded as if Justin had given up for now, but she knew that he would confront her as soon as she left the room. Sighing, Alex wondered if she should keep reading or just skip to the page Joan was writing in chemistry yesterday. She began to turn the pages, noticing the odd layout of the page. It looked like the words were written right to left instead of left to right.

Making sure not to tear or bend any of the pages, Alex finally made it to the final letter, but she heard padding coming up the stairs and Justin whispering, "Hello," as if speaking to a baby. Gatobella/Joan was back. Alex did not bother to close Joan's personal journal, wanting to show the brat that she did not trust her. Joan may act like she wanted to truly help Alex and was fine with being here, but she was just a whiny little girl who cried her eyes out whenever she was alone. Joan did not want to be here, and Alex did not want her here. She wanted the masked girl to just go home and be sent into the middle of this revolution.

"And if she just gets caught in the crossfire, well… that's just icing on the cake." Alex tried to smile at this comment, but it faltered.

Alex may not know much about war outside of movies, but it was always depicted with chaos and carnage, a word often repeated to describe it being "hell". What if Chatadom was like that? What if there was no one left for Joan to send this journal to?

"_My, my… Such words normally come out of _my_ mouth. I'm proud."_ A voice in the back of Alex's head chuckled. The voice had a mature ring to it, and the flow of the accent was like a cradle for the words, caring for them like it would for a newborn. Yet, the flowing, graceful voice had a subtle, cold edge to it that made Alex think of the cradle suddenly growing huge spikes, threatening to impale the newborn. She had heard this voice before.

"Seraphina." Alex froze, all of the memories she had gotten barreling into her overcrowded mind. She felt like she was losing it and realized that she was. She has a _second_ _personality_ for crying out loud! And she was _speaking_ to her!

There was another chuckle_. "Let us not be so formal. Not to mention how confusing it would be seeing as we are both halves of 'Seraphina.' Call me Idolon. It means 'ghost'. Anyway, in Tartarus, they called me a phantom, because it almost seemed as if I could not be killed."_

She sounded quite proud of herself, and Alex realized that it had been Idolon sending her the memories, and she could have twisted them anyway she wanted to. She could have omitted stuff or just straight out lied about something. Joan said that Set had punished Idolon, and in the journal, it proved that the battle in Tartarus happened. But what happened that Idolon _didn't_ show? Had she killed more? Did she actually fail and was taken away in defeat?

And what about Ivan? Did that meeting even happen? Why show her that memory? Alex was never very good at puzzles—too boring. Now, she had one vital to her survival, and pieces were missing. Only, the person that hid them couldn't be trusted to tell the truth.

What was that riddle? There was a fork in the road, one leading to a portal to Hell, one leading to the stairway of Heaven. Guarding each road was one guard. One only told the truth, and one only lies. To figure out which path leads to the stairway to heaven, only one question could be asked. So which question would that be?

There were just a few things Alex would need to change, however: There were millions of paths, many of which were most likely dead ends (emphasis on the _dead_); there was only _one_ guard, and the only thing she probably did with the truth is twist it; and Alex was allowed to ask as many questions as she liked, but there was no guarantee that she would get any straight answers. Alex needed straight answers. Otherwise, her head just might explode. That was, if she didn't tear her own brain apart with her bare hands first.

"_What?"_ prodded Idolon. _"Cat got your tongue?"_ She burst into laughter that made Alex's inner ear ring like when she is near a high frequency. She forced herself onto her feet just to fall onto her bed when Idolon's laughter died down. _"Go over to your mirror. I'd like to see your face."_ Alex refused to move, but she partly thought that it was because she couldn't. _"Come on, Alexandra. You are the first person I could never get any thoughts from, and you are practically my _other half_. Looking at your face may at least give me some sort of hint, and it will be the same for you."_

_Not even my _mom_ calls me 'Alexandra',_ thought Alex just as Justin knocked on the door again.

"Alex, Gatobella wants to come inside," he did not sound as urgent as before when he was banging on the door. Alex guessed that he decided to give her a little bit of space for a while, but she wondered why he had sounded so freaked out earlier.

There was padding at the door, and Alex's jaw set. She forced herself up, hair falling around her head in unruly tangles and knots. "Chuck that damn cat out the window!"

A low **thud** sounded as Gatobella made a yowling sound that indicated that she was angry. Alex guessed that Gatobella had been carrying that thing she carried out earlier in her mouth. Alex got up and was about to shout something else when Justin suddenly said something.

"What? What's going on?!" He started to sound really suspicious again. Just this morning, Alex had been holding Gatobella in her lap while watching one of her favorite shows before going to school, and now she was willing for her to be tossed from the third story and into traffic. "Alex, Juliette told me about your conversation with her mom. She says that you really freaked her out. Come on, Alex. Tell me what's going on."

Without answering, Alex went over to the mirror, seeing not her reflection, but the image of Idolon that she was so used to. Only, her eyes were not as cold, so icy hands did not grip Alex's heart this time. They were not exactly soft, either, but they were not the eyes that have been haunting her thoughts ever since that first dream. She smiled at Alex._ "Ah, there you are. Looks like you've been crying. What, can't handle the truth? Why don't you let me take the reins? Then you won't have to worry about anything, and you just might learn a thing or two."_

Alex's eyes widened at the suggestion. The Killing Queen taking over Alex's body?

Idolon exhaled a slight laugh, eyes closing before she looked at Alex again. _"Really, Alexandra. There is no way you are cut out for what is going to be happening."_

"Alex!" Justin tried again.

"SHUT UP!" Alex gripped her dresser, her nails digging into the wood. Her eyes stung, and she forced air down her windpipe. It went down in shuddering breaths, her ears feeling like they were going to pop like when she was in a plane as it took off. "Just shut the hell up."

Idolon's smile was gone, and her eyes were neutral. _"Are you speaking to me or your nosy brother?"_ Her words were low and held no emotion. The edge was hidden, but Alex still could see the spikes in the crib. Death was eminent. The only question now was how long she could keep it away and what she could do in the meantime.

"To you."


	11. The Chariot

**Chapter 11: The Chariot**

"_Pure truth, like pure gold, has been found unfit for circulation because men have discovered that it is far more convenient to adulterate the truth than to refine themselves" - Charles Caleb Colton_

Swallowing hard, Alex pushed herself away from the dresser, pulled the towel more over her face to darken the shadows, and went over to the door, opening it only a crack. Justin stepped back in surprise, looking a little hurt at Alex's outburst earlier. Alex had meant it to be for Idolon, but Justin knew nothing of the insanity ripping Alex's brain to shreds.

For all he knew, Alex had said that to him, and she was just acting out of some unprovoked spite. Gatobella trotted in, that little, black, booklet-thing in her mouth, and she leapt up onto the bed, looking as concerned as a cat could. Alex watched Justin carefully, taking in his Captain Jim Bob Sherwood pajamas and familiar, teal eyes. Justin had been the only child without brown eyes, and Alex had envied him for it when she was little and in love with green and blue eyes. Brown eyes were so common, and Alex had never liked being one in many about anything. Now, Alex's eyes matched those of the monster inside her.

She wanted her brown eyes back.

"What?" Alex's voice came out as an impatient croak, and Gatobella made a soft noise that somewhat sounded like a meow. Alex turned to look at her. "Shut up!" Gatobella made a low noise that made her seem annoyed. "What is it?"

Justin pushed through the door, entering the room. Alex tried to push him out, but she was exhausted and did not have enough strength. Justin, who had been working out lately, managed to pick up Alex and put her on her bed. She tried to get up, but he pushed her back down by the shoulders. Alex knew that she was in no condition to fight back just yet. Even worse, she was starting to get hungry again. She had been so agitated earlier, she did not eat enough.

"Tell me what's going on." Justin pulled Alex's chair from her desk to sit in front of her. He tried to look into her eyes, but she was looking at the floor. "You passed out that night Juliette came, you've been crying, and that spell with the water. Who else could have done it? Joan?"

_Yes,_ thought Alex bitterly just as Idolon piped up again, saying, _"Just kick him out of your room. Or maybe out the window. The cat too. You know you want to."_

Letting out a sharp shriek, Alex grasped the sides of her head. Justin came forward, bringing her into his arms. She allowed him to do so, and Gatobella walked around Alex, sniffing her skin. She made a noise that Alex guessed was a sneeze, and then Gatobella jumped off the bed and went out the door, sprinting. Alex watched her, whimpering. She hated looking so vulnerable in front of her brother, and it got worse as her mom came into her room.

"Alex, what's going on?" Theresa rushed over to her daughter as Jerry walked in, looking puzzled and worried.

Sitting up, Alex kept her head down and brought her knees to her chest. "Mom…" She already knew the answer to the question she was about to ask, but she needed to hear it from her mother. More than anything, Alex hoped that her mom would say "No", she'd wake up from the smell of Max's room down the hall, and everything that had happened would have just been some weird, twisted dream that proved she ate too many sweets before bed.

She paused for a bit before finally continuing, "Mom, am I adopted?" Her voice was low, and she could almost see Idolon rolling her eyes.

"_What do you care? Besides, you know the answer you idiot."_ Idolon sounded annoyed with Alex, almost like an overworked teacher working with a child that was asking tons of obvious questions. Or Alex's kindergarten teacher when Alex was whining about her 'boyfriend' playing tag with another girl—Alex had never gone through the Cootie Stage.

Justin started to laugh, and Jerry began to tell her that there was no way Alex could be adopted when he noticed that Theresa was still as stone and pale as chalk. Her eyes were wide, her lips were pressed tightly together, and she kept herself close as if trying to fill up the least amount of space possible. It looked as if she were barely breathing, and as Alex looked up at her mom, her eyes stung as she realized that there was no more chance of this being a nightmare. The room was quiet, and Justin turned to look over at his mom, a quizzical look on his face.

"Mom, I _remember_ you telling me how Alex was born in some cab. You called dad as soon as…" Justin looked back over at Alex before returning his gaze to his mother. "Something happened those six months dad and I were in Toronto." Justin had been a year-and-a-half at the time, which was when one or two of his earliest memories had taken place. While his mother was pregnant, his dad had to go to some wizard retreat taking place in Toronto, Canada and took Justin with him. They got back a few days after Alex had been born.

"Theresa, Alex _is_ our child, right?" Jerry placed his hands on his wife's shoulders, and she flinched, her eyes closing tightly. He clenched his teeth, knowing what her silence meant. "What happened? The doctor _told_ us that you were pregnant. I know you weren't showing by the time we left, but some women show much later than others, especially with a baby as small as Alex was."

Alex could tell that Justin was not liking this talk of pregnancy, and truth be told, she was not really thrilled about it either. Health class had been hell for her last year. She skipped class as soon as they started talking about the reproductive system—Mrs. West liked to go in-depth, and she had lots of visual aids. Alex had never planned on getting pregnant, so she had figured that she would not need to know any of that, but now Alex was hearing her dad ask about her mother "showing", and Theresa looked like she did when they all had gone to her father's funeral in Mexico. Alex pulled the towel up more over her face, causing more strands to slide over her eyes. What had happened? Was Alex just _found_ in the cab? Why did her mom not go to the police? Why were her dad, Justin, and the rest of the family kept in the dark?

"I had a miscarriage," Theresa admitted softly, her eyes brimming with tears. "I found out two weeks before you left, but I had no idea how to tell you. You were so excited about having a daughter. Remember when I tried to get you…" She looked over at her two children watching her and swallowed the rest of the sentence. "I was going to my gynecologist when I found Alex just lying there in the cab. I asked the driver where she came from, but he said that he saw me bring her in. He told me that I called her 'Alexandra'. So I kept her and never told anyone else what had happened. That driver even handed me the papers when I was getting off, saying they must have fallen out of my purse. I know I should have gone to the police, but…" Theresa looked over at Alex, who had her head down again and her arms hidden in her long, baggy sleeves. Her legs were now crossed. "Alex… how would you…?"

Swallowing, Alex quickly went over the pros and cons of just showing them her face.

Pro: she could possibly get more help and some extra answers.

Con: she could give them all simultaneous heart attacks.

As Theresa called Alex's name again, though, Alex decided that it was worth the risk. They were all going to figure it out sooner or later, and sometimes tip-toeing around egg shells wasn't an option. They were all going to break sooner or later, and the faster Alex got help, the better. She took off the towel and looked up as she used her fingers to comb through her hair. Gasping, Theresa backed up into Jerry, who was just frozen in place. Justin examined her like he would do one of his science or wizard projects, and Alex did not like it. She was his _sister_, not his experiment. She bit her lip, praying to whoever was up there (her birth parents?) that this would go over well. Then, to make things worse, Max came into the room and stumbled backwards as soon as he saw Alex.

"Whoa!" Max ended up hitting his head on the wall across from Alex's room. Normally, Theresa would have rushed over to make sure that he was alright and that his thick skull didn't break anything, but she was still frozen in place, staring at the daughter she thought she had known for more than sixteen years.

"_Just let me take it from here. I can iron out the messes you've made. Besides, I know this body. I'm the one who was in charge of it for numerous centuries. I know spells, charms, hexes, curses, and how to control all of the elements we have the ability to manipulate."_ Idolon sounded bored, growing impatient with Alex's snubbing of her questions.

"You could not have waited for me to come back up before you told everyone?" Joan stalked into the room, her posture and movements making her look like she was in the military.

A cloth bag was in one hand, a syringe with a long, thin needle partly filled with an azure-colored liquid in her other hand. She ignored the others as she walked around the bed, dropping the bag to Alex's right. She brought the needle up to her mouth and pulled the stopper off with her teeth.

"Hold still," she commanded. "This is to keep the other personality from coming out." With the stopper in her mouth, her words were a somewhat hard to understand, but Alex got the message. She placed her feet back onto the ground and held still, keeping her back straight. She was willing to go through anything to get rid of Idolon.

Justin quickly got over his earlier shock and jumped to his feet. At the same time Joan was speaking to Alex about what the shot was for, Justin screamed, "What are you doing?! What is that?! Hey! Get that away from her and answer me!"

Justin came towards Joan, but he was stopped by a wall of water that suddenly started boiling. The eighteen-year-old leapt back, and Joan let out a shiver as if abruptly hit with a wave of piercing cold.

"What the _fuck_?!" Justin grabbed his hand, which now had blisters on the back of it.

He clenched his teeth, not used to so much pain. He ignored it though and reached for his wand. However, it shot out of his hand as soon as Joan muttered a word in a language none of them knew. Justin himself was knocked back as well. Joan began to breathe deeply as if she had been running, beads of sweat running down her face, neck, and arms, making her shiver even more. The cloth of her billowy sleeves stuck to her arms, and her hair was damp. She took a breath, forcing herself to stay steady, breathing through her mouth.

Jerry raised his hands, but he was suddenly knocked back as well as Joan muttered that word again. Theresa helped Jerry regain his balance, and Jerry looked closely at the girl standing behind his daughter. Her hair was down now, the tips brushing along her waist. As she breathed, the skin around near her ears seemed to shimmer orange before going back to normal. It shifted in this way several times, proving that it was not a trick of the light. Jerry's eyes narrowed slightly, and as Alex saw this, she grew more curious of Joan.

This grew even more when her father ordered, "Justin, stay there. It's fine."

_What does he know that we don't?_ wondered Alex just as Justin demanded, "_WHY_?! You don't care anymore just because your sperm isn't what made her?!"

Normally, Justin would not defy authority unless he absolutely had to (like when he had to save or cover for Alex). He especially did not say things like he just had unless _really_ angry, and Jerry gave him a look, brown eyes hard.

"That has nothing to do with this. I raised her. She's as much mine and Theresa's as you and your brother," Jerry growled. His eyes flickered towards his wife, showing that they were going to need to talk about this at length later. "I think we can trust Joan with this." He turned to the girl. "Right?"

"Yes, you can trust me," assured Joan after spitting out the stopper. "This is a special potion. It will help Alex with something she is going through, but it needs to be injected right near the spinal cord. Let me do this. One slip, and I may hurt her." The wall of water disappeared, and Joan stilled herself. She got on her knees and lifted Alex shirt. "Hold it up for me and bend forward slightly."

Jaw set, Justin stayed where he was, cradling his blistered hand as he glowered at Joan. Just because his dad seemed to trust her, didn't mean he had to. One stray move, and Justin wanted to be in the right place to tackle her. (She seemed frail enough that even he could do that.) He had his feet parted to shoulder length, and he barely blinked.

Alex did as told, and Joan felt along her spine. Alex squeezed her eyes shut and stayed still, praying that Joan knew what she was doing.

"I've never heard of a potion that needs to be injected," said Justin suspiciously. "And I thought you didn't speak English well."

"Ask your father. There are numerous potions, many for medical reasons. Also, I've been learning English for years rather than months." Her finger stopped on one vertebra, and she inserted the needle just below it, angling it so the needle pointed towards the brain. Alex made a face but did not move. She hated needles. Doctors always had to hold her down whenever she got her shots, and some of them still left with bite marks and scratches on their arms and hands.

"_GET THAT NEEDLE OUT! YOU_ NEED _ME! YOU'LL_ DIE _IF I'M—"_ Idolon stopped as Joan began to slowly inject the liquid. _"DAMMIT, I'M GOING TO_ KILL _THAT—" _Her voice suddenly disappeared, and Alex was alone in her mind.

The liquid filled Alex with a piercing pain that crawled up and dripped down her spine, but she stayed still, knowing that Joan was not done. She was injecting the potion very slowly, and though it was agony, Alex did not want to risk ruining it because of a bit of pain and her fear of needles. For all she knew, this could make Idolon leave forever, and by not letting the entirety of the potion be injected, she could risk the demoness returning.

"Dad?" Justin looked at Jerry quizzically as Max came back into the room.

Jerry watched Joan with something that looked like anger. His jaw was set, and Justin became even more confused. Finally, Jerry spoke, but his words were directed to Joan. "Are you trying to get my family in trouble with the Council?" His voice was low, and everyone looked at him now.

"Are you talking about the Wizard Council? What would they care if we learned a new potion? Is that what we're _supposed_ to do?" questioned Justin. It was clear that his fury was growing, and to tell the truth, Alex was too.

She remembered from Joan's journal entry/letter thing, Joan put "wizard lessons" in quotations when she was talking about the magic class down in the Lair. Was she indicating that the lessons were bogus or that they were not really wizards? Alex was about to speak when Joan answered more of her questions, though she spoke to Justin, eyes back on the needle as she carefully injected the potion.

When Jerry hesitated, Joan answered calmly: "Only to an extent. All the spells you have learned are mere illusions. Good ones, but illusions nonetheless. There are no spells that stop time, transfiguration past a certain level is considered a mythical practice, and all magic takes away energy from the caster. You are a science man. Have you wondered about the law of conservation of matter? Law of definite proportion? Law of multiple proportions? You think magic was just a way around science?

"Magic _is_ science. It is full of math. It makes up our history. Only, Magicians—Humans, they are called now—are not allowed to know it. It has been that way for a little over seven-thousand years in this dimension. Your father knows this. He is a pureblood Wizard. Only, he married a Human, who is not allowed to practice magic. Offspring used to have to follow the same rules, but several years ago, the rules changed. Now they may practice, but the practice is very limited.

"Also, only one child is allowed to keep practicing magic in his or her adult years as an extra precaution. They are thinking of changing this law so that the other children may keep their 'powers', but these debates have been going on nearly as long as the debates of telling Magicians about magic and letting them practice altogether. Your father never lost his powers. Your mother is able to practice magic but never knew it. The Competition is a hoax. But I doubt your father actually _wanted_ to do this. Violation of this law calls for harsh punishment to the _entire_ family."

Near the end of the explanation, the rest of the potion had left the syringe, and she got a tiny cotton ball from out of the cloth bag. She pressed it on Alex's back as she took out the needle. She then got out a bandage and used it to keep the cotton ball in place. Joan then placed the stopper back onto the needle and placed it in a light blue plastic bag that was in the cloth bag.

Pulling down her shirt, Alex looked at her dad. "Is that true?" Her voice was quiet, but it held so much force, and Jerry ended up taking a step back. "Have you been lying to us our whole lives?"

"What're you all talking about? Dad wouldn't lie about the Competition and have us pinned against each other for no reason, right?" Max looked over at his dad, but his unsure smile quickly turned into a sure frown.

"You did lie." Alex knew that this was in everyone's minds, but it needed to be said out loud.

"You pinned us against each other for no reason?" Justin was just as angry as his sister, and even Theresa stepped away from her husband to look at him, but then she looked at her own hands, not sure what her emotions should be.

"You never told me about any of this," she said, voice devoid of emotion while her dark brown eyes showed a mélange of it.

"I was thinking of all of you," Jerry assured the children and his wife. "If the law is broken, your mother and I could be thrown in prison, and you kids would end up in foster families and injected with a potion that is still experimental to suppress your memories. I couldn't let that happen."

"Why is it like this?" Alex demanded. "Why wouldn't they allow us to know about _real_ magic?" She stood up, noticing that she was taller now by a good three or four inches. She guessed that it would be any minute now before wings sprouted from her back. How would she even know how to fly? Birds learned from their mothers, so Alex doubted that she would just _know_.

Sighing, Jerry looked away. "It's a long story. Everyone follow me to the Lair. I'm pretty sure I still have that text book from college. It talks all about the Blood War, which led to these laws." He walked out the door, and as the others began to follow him, Joan took Justin's injured hand.

As Joan exhaled slowly, cool water surrounded Justin's hand like a glove. "Sorry about the boiling water. I just wanted to make sure Alex got the potion." She walked with him and Alex out the door, and Justin just nodded, examining at the water surrounding his hand as Joan whispered a spell to keep the water-glove in place for several minutes. She looked over at Alex and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"How did you feel when you realized that you've been living in a nest of lies your entire life?" Alex inquired, shaking off Joan's hand.

Joan gave a shrug. "Angry, frightened, distrustful, suspicious, sad, hateful, like nothing made sense and never would. I wanted things to get better, but I felt like everything was just getting worse. I felt like I had hit rock-bottom, smashed through it, and fell into the hot magma bubbling underneath."

Alex had not heard it being described that way before, but it felt like Joan was exactly right. So Alex just nodded as she went down the stairs. "There's your answer."


	12. Seven of Wands

**Chapter 12: Seven of Wands**

"_All warfare is based on deception." - from The Art of War_

"This can't be right," Justin said half to himself as he, Joan, Max, and Alex entered the restaurant. The water-glove had disappeared, though his hand still stung a bit. "What about Dragon? He'd been charmed to look like a beagle. What about Alex turning herself into a tiger? What about all of those spells I've _memorized_?! I'm almost up to five-_thousand_! Was all of that for noth—" He ceased speaking as Joan suddenly turned, her deep red hair fanning around her lithe body as she did so.

"_Yes_. Were you not listening? Spells are actually simpler than those incantations in mock-Latin. If you want light, just say, 'Light'. Most prefer to use other languages, especially ancient ones, that way if they are in a battle or duel, their opponents have less of a chance of knowing what it is they are doing. As for all the magic you have done previously, it is an _illusion_. That wand of yours? It is an advanced computer in a wand shape. There have been powerful charms placed on it to make all of the spells you cast _seem_ real—to keep you happy and not go looking for real magic. It uses a bit of real magic to fuel the illusions, and it runs on electricity and uses that as the energy to allow the magic to happen. That is why you do not feel tired after casting the spells. You will learn more from this lesson about why this is all so." Joan began to walk towards the door, but Alex grabbed her hand.

"Where are you going?!" Alex demanded.

How could Joan just drop a bomb on her and her family and then turn to leave? Could she not see the seams tearing apart thread by thread? Did she not care about the threads she cut herself? Alex was starting to hate Joan more and more. She wished that those time spells _were_ real. She was only chapters away from learning how to send Joan to Salem during the witch trials!

"What is it?" Theresa stopped at the door to the kitchen, looking at her daughter quizzically. It was very clear that she was still not used to Alex's change in appearance and was also still feeling guilty, probably worried about how Alex might be viewing her now. "Honey, are you alright?"

Alex could hear the shaking in her voice. Her hearing had become substantially better. She could even faintly hear the heartbeats of her family. Her night vision was just as good, and Alex hoped that she just had large pupils like owls, rather than the glow-ie eyes like those of cats. Alex could see the uncertainty in her mother's eyes.

_Yeah, my mother,_ thought Alex. _She's still my mom. I bet that cabbie was someone supposed to make sure I got mortal parents._

"Does your ear itch?" questioned Joan.

Surprised and utterly puzzled at the question, Alex found herself letting go of Joan's arm. "Yeah, so what?"

"Mine does too," Joan confided. "That is normally a sign that you are being spoken of or watched. Left means you are being spoken of in a negative way; right means you are being spoken of in a positive way. I need to do a perimeter search to see who is watching you and take appropriate action. We need you safe, Alex. Go on and learn. Knowing the past helps you create a better path for the future."

Joan then left, her body fading into mist as soon as she reached the piercing cold that was the New York City wind. The mist was carried away by the wind, and Alex and Justin found themselves staring at the spot they last saw Joan.

"Please tell me we'll get to learn how to do that," whispered Alex. _That was so cool! So there's a spell that lets you turn into mist but you can still hear and see everything around you? Awesome!_ Alex was pretty ecstatic about learning that spell, but as soon as Justin regained composure, he pulled Alex towards the Lair.

The family of five entered the room, and Jerry immediately went to the bookshelf behind the desk. He took out some of the large books Alex tended to cut into and hide things in when she found out that they were not important to begin with—even a few that could be important but didn't catch her interest at all.

Jerry placed these large books on the desk without much care, digging out some of the smaller books behind them. He picked up one in particular that was about the size of one of the first three _Harry Potter_ books. It was light grey with a maroon covering on the spine and an eighth of an inch of the covering reaching over the front and back covers. Also on the spine in iridescent, cursive, gold writing was _Traitorous Heroine_. Jerry opened it, ran his finger down what Alex guessed to be a table of contents, and as soon as he found what he wanted, he turned to the correct page and looked at the others.

"I used a borrowed text book in my Blood War History class, so I couldn't keep it, but this book was required reading, so I bought it with the money I made being a waiter at a restaurant on campus. It's a book about Elliahn Durjaya, the first Magician knight who was a woman in the Milky Way galaxy. She fought in the Blood War against her own kingdom, and this book is basically her diary found by a historian. She rewrote it, had it translated it into different languages, separated it into chapters, and had commentaries and articles added in the beginning and end. Here's a passage starting in the chapter where she has been captured. It talks about how she was imprisoned, the Council already starting to plan what they would do about the Magicians is they are able to defeat them."

He began to read, but Alex could almost hear a woman's voice, the words in front of her, not wanting to be confided to the pages any longer:

_How could I have thought that I could ride into the Iau-ta kingdom and convince anyone that I am _against_ the reign of the Durjaya kingdom over all others? Eleven other kingdoms have joined the so-called Magician Cause. There have even been Elf, Sorcer, Witch, and Warlock kingdoms as well as Ogre, Troll, and Vampire tribes and clans that have joined them to get the rulers of those twelve kingdoms to lead the entire dimension in an oppressive oligarchy._

_Everyone will be lowered to the status of slaves, leaving the "traitor" Magicians as serfs in the grand palaces that will be built on each of the native planets of the Magicians in this dimension. Not to mention that I am the niece of King Korat, ruler of the Durjaya kingdom. I felt no anger towards the people in the crowd as the executioner fitted the rope around my neck._

_They cheered, shouting gleefully for my death, the death of my uncle and king, and the death of my kingdom. However, they were not mine anymore. I am a wanderer with no kingdom and no ruler. My name is no longer Durjaya. It has disgraced me so. It is not the other way around as Prince Schornrok had said as I saddled my einhorn and left._

_How I want my dear einhorn, Bucephalus, at this moment. He and I share a special bond all knights should have with their war unicorns. I had to leave him on the beach of my water-locked kingdom, calling for me in pain as I rode off towards the nearest landmass in a ship I had snuck away on. So I was completely alone at the gallows, trapdoor under my feet, rope tied around my wrists. The executioner's hands held the lever, not looking anywhere in particular. I simply stood there stoically. _

_It was early in the summer here in the Iau-ta kingdom, but it still felt cold to me. There were no birds in the sky, only in the trees, watching me like the people circling the platform. They all held knifes, daggers, hammers, batons, quarter staffs, and items normally used for farming. They were ready for an attack, and that was good. Because right before the lever was pulled, savage shouts for blood filled the air, making those around me quiet instantly. Riding on the backs of dark horses and war unicorns, were nearly one-hundred knights of one of the Sa'diah kingdoms. I could not tell which one from so far away, but they raged down the hills like death covered in burgundy, bronze, and burnt orange armor that gleamed in the bit of sunlight that filtered through the clouds. The general lifted his large sword into the air, shouting though the hole in the face plate for his mouth. _

_I could picture his eyes being full of bloodlust._

_All of the villagers around me got out their weapons, and the officers and executioner unsheathed their swords. I then took that moment to use my Gift—the ability to move through solid objects. I do not always use my Gift, as such an ability is seen as a curse placed upon by a demon rather than a blessing given by the divine. _

_I got out of the ropes and jumped away. A few tried to beat me, but luckily, it was the baton and quarter staff wielders, rather than those holding hammers and knives. These strikes did not do much to me. As a part of training for knights is a regular beating by batons such as these to harden our muscles. I was beat even harder, the instructors trying to get me to leave—they believed that a woman should not be allowed to fight. Yet I endured it, and I was able to wrestle two batons out of the hands of peasants and fight back. Two fell to the ground with strikes to the head to stun them. _

_My intent was not to kill. It was to escape and find a way to the Council of Magick. A blacksmith stood in my way though, his body as immune to baton strikes as my own. On his hands were burns from his recent and old work, and his face showed pure rage towards me. He was considerably taller than my short stature, and this man wielded a hammer, the head large enough to break my bones in a single blow. I was able to dodge them, but his rage makes him strong and fast. My fear does not allow me to match him. I needed to get away._

_So I quickly dodged a blow and simultaneously put all of my power into a blow of my own into the side of his head, which I had to jump up to hit it effectively. He did not go down instantly, but he did stumble and drop his hammer. I took that time to get away, praying to the divine to grant me great speed, for at least this moment. _

_The Sa'diah had reached the people. I could tell by the screams and battle cries. I ignored it all and ran into the forest, winding around the trees._

_My teeth clenched almost to the point of breaking. Strands of my short hair fell over my brown eyes, and when I could no longer hear any screams, I slowed down until stopping by a large evergreen. I kneeled by its thick trunk and closed my eyes as I bowed my head. My hands finally uncurled, though I kept my palms on the batons just in case someone had followed me._

"_Gaia, Guardian of Nature, allow me one wish. Take me to the Council of Magick so I may warn them of the appending danger awaiting their head armies in the Gamma and Xi galaxies and even their own fortress. Magician kingdoms of Psi have already taken over that galaxy. Please, let me warn the Council. No more lives need to be lost over this greed." _

_As the last word left my lips, I was asleep. When I awoke, I was before the Council of Magick, who watched me with shocked horror. I no longer had the batons, and I silently thanked Gaia as I stood up before them, placing my first two fingers of my right hand over my throat and my left hand over my heart. I came here in peace._

_The Wizard Councilman stood up. He was head of the Council, now that Josaht Chaniton has been arrested and executed for giving Council secrets to the leaders of the Magician rulers that have been spilling blood for almost seventeen years now._

_The Wizard Councilman, Altroc Lanblastin, looked at me with his cold, ice blue eyes. His shoulder length hair was as dark as night, and his skin had a certain pallor that only came from a combination of stress, anger, and fear. "Lady Elliahn Durjaya of Gamma Terra, what is your reason for showing yourself before the Council?"_

_I am sure he wished to damn me then and there, but it was law of the Council to judge fairly. I was about to speak when Warlock Councilman, Etristaj Balkinash, stood and spat, "Why _else_?! A nasty Durjaya like her has nothing else to do but damn us all! She should be executed now, her head planted on a pike and sent to Korat! Show him he and his horrid ambitions _will_ be defeated! We're not letting this war go any further than it has already gone!" _

_His thick accent made his Tempsta difficult to comprehend, but I understood enough that my heart beat even faster. There were even nods of agreement among the others of the Council._

"_Her kind murdered my family_ _in cold blood!" The Sorcer Councilman shouted, glaring at me with his fiery eyes. "I say we strip her of all magic along with the rest of that murderous race of hers!"_

"_Curse them!" The Witch Councilman stood up, his eyes flashing grey-green in pure hate. "It is rumored of a curse to place people under torture like none has ever endured. It passes down through the generations, and all we need is blood of different Mites and a special potion from that book Head Councilman Lanblastin possesses. If the Durjaya kingdoms wish to be bloodthirsty beasts, I say we let them feast on their fellow Magicians!"_

_There were various "Yeas", "Hurrahs", and "Here heres" as the others stood up. The entire Council was shouting and suggesting grand punishments among each other, and a Nymph and an Eagleite grabbed my arms and held knives to the sides of my neck. Out of the gallows and into prison. Councilman Lanblastin shouted for order and rapped his gavel onto his podium three times. The sound was like thunder in my ears, and I found myself grinding my teeth as the Wizard shouted at the others._

"_We shall throw her into the prison!" he yelled. "There is a more pressing matter at hand. I have been informed that the Sa'diah-pa army has invaded the Iau-ta kingdom in Gamma Terra. General Iau and his wife were killed, and their daughter is missing. The castle has been invaded, and the queen and prince have been killed. Only King Torin and Princess Eliza live, but the princess has been captured. Three other kingdoms in the Sigma galaxy have already been conquered, as well as five kingdoms in Delta and two empires in Lambda! Not to mention that the Psi galaxy is _already_ under the control of the Magicians!"_

_I could not take this anymore. I needed to warn them. Speaking out of turn was rounds for punishment, and they already wanted me dead. Swallowing, I risked it anyway. _

_Dear Gaia who brought me here, protect me, I pleaded. Dear divines who had Gifted me and the highest holies who had allowed them to give me this honor, shower me with grace, I prayed._

"_THERE ARE EVEN WORSE TRAPS AWAITING IN THE GAMMA AND XI GALAXIES! YOU NEED TO CALL OFF YOUR ARMIES! THE DURJAYA KINGDOMS, TIAMAN KINGDOMS, DRAUPNIR EMPIRES, AND AOIFE KINGDOMS ARE WAITING! THE REST PLAN TO COME HERE, BUT I KNOW THEIR WEAKNESSES! I CAN _HELP_ YOU!" I was really risking my life here, but what was my life to hundreds of thousands of lives? Why should Witches, Wizards, Sorcers, Elves, and Warlocks be forced down to the lowly level of the Vampires, Nymphs, Trolls, Ogres, Mites, and Dwarves?_

_Everyone was quiet. They looked at me with suspicion and anger. I could not blame them, but I needed trust. _

"_Please," I begged, "I speak the truth. By the names of Leorensenka and Tisanisenka, I speak the truth!" This needed to get their attention. I swallowed, my heart pounding in fear. I knew not of my future, but I knew something for sure: No matter what, Magicians would no longer be looked upon with awe. We would no longer be known as the most powerful race of Mzrisknu. We would become lower than the servants working the fields and clearing the bodies. I was not sure if we would all lose our magic or if that was even possible. _

_Divine ones, protect us all._


	13. Four of Swords

**Chapter 13: Four of Swords**

"_A person who doesn't work hard is just like a person who destroys things." - Proverbs 18:9_

Darkness was not supposed to have weight, yet it threatened to crush Alex's weakened body. It was way past midnight, yet she could not sleep, and she was starving, though she did not feel like eating. Her shirt had been cast aside, raven-like wings with a fifteen-foot span stretched out over the sides of the bed. They grew out from her shoulder blades, which were a larger now and had extra muscles that also moved through her wings. Alex had been experimenting with them for a while when they first appeared an hour ago. It had been minutes after she, Justin, and Max had been sent to their rooms to sleep, and Alex wondered if they were just as restless as she.

For once, Max had said nothing throughout the entire explanation, though Justin fought it the entire way, protesting and arguing with every question and piece of information he could scrape from the back of his mind. Alex could not blame him. She wanted to fight too, but how could she?

It was after Jerry had finished reading those few pages from _Traitorous Heroine_. He had begun explaining how Elliahn Durjaya was later listened to when the Council realized that there would be no other alternative—that was the smartest thing they had done. All of the Magicians were punished, not just the ones in those twelve kingdoms. The Council did not want something like this happening again, so they forced _all_ Magicians to go to their native planet in each galaxy.

The Magicians were renamed Humans, the other races then called mages, and the Humans lost all memory of magic. Many of them even had to start all over with civilization because of the destruction of those planets. The mages' scientists took this opportunity to study the Humans, watching as new civilizations were built. Some of the Humans' planets were not as bad off from the start, allowing them to develop quicker, giving them better technology than the others. Mages have even manipulated certain happenings of one or two Earths.

Scientists gathered much data from these experiments. They saw which governments worked and which did not and the variables affecting the effectiveness of the governments; problems with overpopulation and how it affected everyday living and issues like the environment and the economy; and many other issues they used to help mage governments operate more efficiently. There were mages who found these experiments to be inhumane, but there were still many who saw Humans as beings that were below them.

Alex had agreed with those thinking that the experiments were inhumane, and she wondered why _all_ Magicians (she refused to call just this one race Humans, when they were _all_ human) were punished when it was just twelve kingdoms that tried to take over the universe.

Justin had been the one to ask this, and Jerry merely replied, "Five of those kingdoms got the worst punishment of all."

The Durjaya, Jivanta, and Neai kingdoms as well as the the Sa'diah and Draupnir empires had been the ones receiving the curse the Witch Councilman had spoken of in that book. They were all gathered together on each of their planets and injected with a certain potion no one except the Council knew existed. Every month, when the moon was full, each person of those kingdoms and their descendants would transform into blood-thirsty beasts that would try to feast on other Humans.

They were known as Lunsatas, and each class was injected with a different potion to turn them into different beasts. Royalty and nobles became Werewolves. The rich became Weretigers. The guards and warriors became Werelions. The middle-class became Werefoxes, and the lower class became Werejackals.

Every full moon, they would go through a painful transformation into that animal, but no mass as displaced. That meant if a Werewolf was two-hundred pounds as a man, he'd transform into a two-hundred pound wolf. There were Lunsatas who refused to have children, not wanting to pass on the curse, but children who _were_ infected didn't go through their first change until puberty.

This was where Justin had jumped up from his seat, arguing about what he had learned about werewolves from Isabella, who had turned _him_ into a werewolf when he kissed her. She had been nowhere _near_ bloodthirsty, and she changed _every_ night. The moon had nothing to do about it. Isabella would even get very angry about any werewolf stereotypes, such as the long, painful changes; the bloodlust; the full moon setting; and even eating cats. Justin challenged his dad to answer that.

Without any difficulty or hesitation, Jerry had:

Isabella had been a test tube-baby from an egg of a woman who was an Elf. The woman's father had been attacked by a Werewolf and had gotten the Werewolf's saliva into his bloodstream, which infected him. The Council had not anticipated this in the beginning, so when a number of mage children suddenly began to change into Lunsatases thousands of years later, a team of medical scientists came forth to try and find a cure.

Women with the Lunsatas gene were asked to donate eggs, which were fertilized with donated sperm from males (both infected and not) in test tubes. As the fertilized eggs developed, scientists did a number of tests to cancel out the gene entirely. Unfortunately, cases like Isabella were the closest they had ever gotten. Out of her generation of about fifty, only seven or eight survived past the embryo and fetus stages, but others died before even reaching puberty. Within the past year or so, humanitarians got the Council to put a stop to the experiments, leaving Isabella's generation the last ones of her kind. They were excused from the laboratory and placed into group homes. Now, only Isabella and a boy her age survive, still going to their doctor on a regular basis.

Shaking his head, Justin asked about how Isabelle turned him into a Werewolf when he kissed her. If the test tube thing was true, the gene would not be contagious, would it? Jerry had finally set his book down, and took a deep breath.

He had explained that the surviving children had been separated into three groups—one that got the medication, one that got a placebo, and one that got nothing. Isabella had been in the group that got many different types of medications, which meddled from stuff as simple a hair growth to as complicated as brain activity. One of the major side-effects was the excretion of chemicals that could infect someone and cause hairiness, a wolf-like appearance, or even something major such as increased aggression and anger, headaches, difficulty with breathing, high fevers, memory loss, or even blackouts. Luckily, Justin had only gotten a relatively mild reaction, which had been easily reversed. There have been cases of some having to be hospitalized from exposure.

Unfortunately, it hadn't been until after Isabella left Jerry found all of this out.

Justin had sat down again, not sure what to say after that. Alex had no words either, and Max looked as if he had been lost from the very start. Theresa, with her kind heart, had begun to cry upon hearing about those poor children the scientists experimented on. Alex's brain felt fried, and she had tuned out of the rest of the conversation.

All she remembered were the talks about the different races, Justin arguing about what he had read, and Jerry rebutting with the actual facts. Justin was furious, and Alex could not blame him. She had memorized more than _seventy_ of those stupid spells! And Justin had memorized over four-_thousand_. Alex had been so proud when she first got to share all of her wizard secrets with Harper. Now she knew that all Harper knew was a load of crap that the mage government had forced her dad to feed her.

"This sucks." Alex stared at her pink fur wallpaper, the darkness still pressing all of its weight on her back. She tried to work her newly-found muscles again, but her wings only moved a few inches at the most. She tried again, folding them against her back. The feathers tickled her skin, and they just felt heavy and awkward, the muscles tensing up. Alex wondered if she would ever get used to them.

The door suddenly opened, a person quietly entering before closing the door. All the lights around the house were out, though Alex guessed that she was not the only one who could not sleep. Breathing in deeply, Alex caught the scent of her mom's ten-cheese enchilada surprise, the chicken from when Juliette was over, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, vinaigrette salad, and corn.

The gentle **swish**, **swish** of water in a glass kissed her ears, keeping tempo with the soft footfalls, and there was another scent—not food, though. It was like a muted pine scent from fir trees in the boreal forests, a bit of apple spice, and the faintest trace of the ocean. The footsteps stopped at the desk, the sound of something heavy lightly hitting the wood and pushing miscellaneous stuff out of the way hitting Alex's ears. After about five seconds, the sharp sound of metal tapping glass made Alex cringe and finally sit up and look at Joan, who was now setting the knife back down onto the tray Alex recognized as one of the ones from the sub shop.

"Eat. You must be starving." She strode over to the bed, holding out a hand. Alex refused it but got up, being mindful of her wings.

Joan carefully took back her hand and sat on the foot of the bed as Alex went over to the desk. She sat down, having to be careful not to bend her wings. She had a wooden chair, the lower rail coming up at the small of her back, so the ends of her wings could slide between that rail and the seat. She had not wanted to cave in earlier, but she was _famished_. The neighbors had probably heard her stomach growling, so Alex started with the salad. She figured she might as well start with the vegetables, allowing the enchiladas and mashed potatoes to get the taste out of her mouth—something told her that Joan would make sure she ate everything that was on the plate.

Silence stretched on for a while, and as Alex started on the corn, Joan spoke up again: "I did not see anyone suspicious, but that does not mean anything. The Evils like to be discreet. They become ordinary people, watching you, learning your routine. We will need to start your training soon. Tomorrow, I will take you to Harriman State Park so you can work on tracking and hand-to-hand fighting. We will work on simple spells and charms afterwards, and then we will begin working on element manipulation."

"My dad said that element manipulation used so much energy, only those with years of experience used those spells." Alex spoke with a monotone. She went back to eating, doing so fairly quickly. She wanted to get back into bed and just shut down. She mostly wanted Joan to leave, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, so she decided to stick with breaking herself off from the world, spending a few hours in a dreamless sleep (if luck was with her).

"That is correct, but you are special. You have seen me use water, but you can use _every_ element. It will just take some energy for you to do so. Just not as much energy as a normal person. Your main element is wildlife, so you can use it without using up much energy at all. You can understand, speak to, and transform into animals." Joan paused for a while, and Alex heard her teeth chatter a bit. "Excuse me, but may I borrow a jumper?"

"Huh?" Alex turned her head and swallowed the bite of chicken.

She noticed something different about Joan: Her ears were gone, orange, fin-like flaps jutting out from her hair and angled back as if protecting ears Alex could not see. The fins had three bony spikes covered in tiny scales with a thin membrane between each of the three-inch-long spikes. The orange spread to her high cheekbones, touching the corners of her eyes and moving down to about a half-inch above her jaw bone. She looked tired, and she was shivering.

"What the heck is a 'jumper'?" she questioned.

Joan had a look on her face that said, "Are you serious? You do not know what that is?" She blinked, thought for a moment, and then replied, "Sweater? Pullover?"

"Oh…" Alex now knew what she was speaking of, but she was still puzzled. "Why did you call it a 'jumper'? Why not just call it a 'sweater' or whatever? Oh, and sure. If it's not on the rack, it's on the floor. I don't like to bother with putting my clothes up on the hangers much if I'm just gonna yank it down to wear it the next day or something."

Nodding, Joan walked over to the closet and chose a relatively large pullover from the floor. It was black and wasn't the best look on Joan, but it was warm, and that seemed to be all she cared about. "'Jumper' is what Keric called it. He is the one that taught me how to speak English. Though, the way he spoke was different from everyone I have met here." She forced her arms though the sleeves. "Thank you." She sat back down on the foot of the bed, sitting with a straight back, legs crossed at the ankles and leaning at an angle. Her hands folded in her lap, and Alex could picture a large book on her head.

Moving the chair by the armrests, Alex got a better view of Joan. She had moved onto the casserole, but in-between bites, she asked, "Why do you sit that way? It's like you're at one of those old 'lady schools'. Have you _ever_ slouched or just looked like an actual human rather than a statue?"

"When I am alone," answered Joan after a second of hesitation. "We were taught to look, speak, and act in a formal manner whenever in front of others with whom we do not have a casual relationship. I do not really notice anymore—it is habitual. Honor and a good name is everything in my country."

"Is that why you're always trying so hard? Because it's really annoying." Alex said the second sentence more softly as she finished off the casserole and started on the mashed potatoes.

Joan had annoyed her and made her wish the redhead would just leave, but there was just this thing about her that made Alex not want to be angry with her anymore—maybe that was what annoyed her most. Joan tried, and that was more than Alex could say for herself most times.

Thinking about this, Alex was reminded of something happening at school some months ago:

_Sierra Thompson sat next to Alex, her dark brown corkscrew curls tied back in a braid, the tips almost to her waist. A few of the shorter curls around her face bounced about her small forehead and square jawline, and her turquoise eyes were questioning. Sierra was still considered new at Tribeca Prep, but she already had a reputation for speaking her mind and being very opinionated—"Heartless Bitch" was a name Maxine Porter and Tanner Trent had started calling her just the second week of school. _

_She also had a reputation for being the "Southern Belle", thanks to her drawl. It did not help much when Tanner Trent had gone up to her on her first day and stated in the worst southern accent Alex had ever heard, "Sorry, my dear Scarlett, but I don't give a damn." That comment had earned him an angry glare and a spiked heel in the foot that made him limp for over an hour. The girl had barely said anything to anyone for the rest of the day._

_Alex wondered why Sierra was sitting next to her. Alex was in all general classes except for the two honors classes Harper had forced her into, and she was a junior. Sierra was a senior taking as many AP classes she was able to fit into her schedule. The only class she took that did not have "AP" in front of it was German IV, and she was a good candidate for Valedictorian. Alex, on the other hand, still had to retake two of her exit exams if she was even going to graduate next year._

_She had ignored Sierra, but the tall brunette got Alex's attention, asking a question that no one had ever really asked Alex in full seriousness. "Why is it you don't work hard? I can tell you have the ability." _

_The second part was definitely a novelty to Alex. She had stopped eating her semi-edible meat-like patty and just looked at Sierra. She did not even have any kind of comeback. All she could do was question, "Why do you care?"_

_Shrugging, Sierra responded, "I've seen you in the halls, being yelled at by teachers, pulling pranks, and the like. I can tell you're smart, but I'm lost. Tell me something: Why would a smart girl like you not bother trying? Like I said, you've got the ability to do so." _

_She looked genuinely bewildered at this fact. What, was it different in South Carolina? No one really questioned Alex's motives anymore—that was just how she was. Why did this girl that had not even spoken one word to her before actually care? Had one of her friends told her to come? What was the angle? Yet, something in her eyes said she was completely sincere. Alex had heard about the senior's cruel nicknames as well as the jokes aimed towards her and her more conservative views. It was rumored that those were the only reasons she was working so hard at three or four different volunteer facilities around Manhattan and even one in Queens. Was Alex just another project?_

_Never really having thought about it much aside from doing what was easiest and gets her immediate gratification, Alex shrugged. "Easier, I guess."_

"_Reminds me of some people back at my old school," murmured Sierra, her freckled nose wrinkling slightly. Alex did not respond, not knowing if she was supposed to or not. _

_After a moment, Sierra took a breath and continued. "I'm not a mind-reader, so I don't know if people really think this or not, but this is how they act: As long as they keep their head down with their butts in the seat all their life, they don't have to worry 'bout life giving them that good ol' kick it tends to give people. Way I see it is life's gonna bite you even harder if that's your approach. Handouts aren't everywhere, Alex. You're gonna have to start working if you wanna get what you want. _

"_This is the way I see it: Give a man a dollar, he can get himself a burger and be happy for a few hours. Force him to get off his lazy ass and _work_ for that dollar, and maybe he can actually get somewhere. Not to mention we may get more than just fifty-percent of the population to pay their taxes. I can't speak for everyone, but the workers are paying for this education you're allowing to go to waste. I'd rather not work hard just so you can rob the nation of what's left of the silver platter."_

"_Whatever" was Alex's only response when she had nothing else to say. After a few moments, Sierra just sighed and left as Harper approached. _

Alex had not given that conversation much thought, but she thought about it now as she ate, watching Joan sitting quietly and patiently.

The silence went on until Alex had polished off her plate, and she finally decided to break it. "What's with your ears?" It sounded rude as soon as the words spilled out, but the question had been bothering her for a while now. Besides, Joan had to be used to Alex's rudeness by now.

"I am half Marmenill—you may know them as Mer-folk. My mother was a Sorcer, but my father was a Marmenill of the River Tribe." Joan first looked uncomfortable, but she then smiled slightly. "When I visited him, he would always take me out to the oceans. The North Sea was my favorite. It was so cold, but it was beautiful, and there are not as many other Marmenill there. It was just me and my father."

Picking up the glass of water, Alex found herself smiling as well. She took a few large gulps as she thought about all that has happened. Alex decided that she did not want to fight with Joan anymore. That would just make things much hardrer for both of them. Plus, Joan seemed to be the one who knew most about all of this. Sure, her dad knew loads of information, but that was only about the natural world. However, when it came to the Guardians, the Einharuns, and the Evils, he did not know more than what was obvious. Apparently, he believed all of those stories to be purely mythology, so Alex had said nothing about Joan knowing who her birth mother and father were. Her family has been through enough as it was.

After finishing her water, Alex set down the glass, meeting Joan's pale eyes. "When do we go to the park?"

Joan's smile grew. "In a few hours." She got up and whispered something under her breath in a language Alex did not understand. "Get some rest." As Joan spoke, she had begun to get smaller, rapidly morphing into Gatobella, who leapt back up onto the foot of the bed, curling into a tight ball of grey, white, and burnt sienna fur.


	14. Strength

**Chapter 14: Strength**

"_Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." - Abigail Adams_

Freezing water slid down Alex face and neck, dampening her navy, bare-backed halter top and loosening the tape that kept the cotton ball on Alex's back. She ripped it off, discarding it on the rocks. The sleeves of a grey hoodie with peace signs were tied around her waist, leaving hobo gloves with cat faces on them to cover her forearms. The cold nipped at her exposed skin, the thin coat of sweat amplifying the discomfort. Her wings sagged slightly, the novel muscles sore and strained. It felt odd standing up on her legs again after about half-an-hour of flying, the first five to ten minutes having been pure torture.

Alex had once thought that flying would be exhilarating. She had never even been in an airplane before. However, with a plane, she had a cage of metal all around her full of safety precautions. With wings, she was on her own. If she hurt herself or something happened… bye-bye Alex. She did not like that feeling, especially when she was so up high, making breathing difficult for the first few minutes. She still shivered, the water not helping whatsoever, and Joan sat on a rock, her legs dangling off the side. She kicked her bare feet, which hovered inches above the rushing water, watching Alex with a small smile on her face.

She wore dark-wash jeans secured by a belt and a long-sleeved top with a V neck, the color like that of raspberries. Her hair was down; her hand grasped the hair stick she had used to keep her silky locks in a bun not long ago. It was an odd object—turquoise along the shaft with silver at the top and bottom. The butt of it was a sphere, a crooked blade coming out of the bottom of it. At the top of the shaft was a circular platform with four crescent moons, points facing out and away from the center blade, which looked like a crooked pyramid that was long and skinny. Suddenly, though, the stick grew as Joan stood up on the rock. The stick soon became a staff that was about two feet longer than her height of five feet and six inches. Each crescent moon was close to the size of her head, and the blade in the center of those moons rose nearly a foot above the top curves. It was crooked but looked like it could impale Alex if Joan was in that sort of mood. The girl twirled the staff once, and the bottom blade scraped the rock, sending a trickling shower of sparks into the icy stream.

"What the…" Alex stared at the crooked blade that had scraped against the rock. It looked to be roughly six inches long, and the orb it stuck out of was nearly the size of Joan's fist. Alex stared at it in awe until it dawned on her. "No. No way! That's not fair! You get a weapon and I have to fend myself with rocks and sticks I find in the woods!" Just tromping through the forest was dragging Alex out of her comfort zone—she was a city girl, not some hick who lived in a log cabin and used a wood stove.

"From here on out, you will never have a fair fight. You will use what is on hand, including your fists, feet, and, most importantly, your _mind_." Joan looked serious. "You must be ready for whatever it is will be thrown at you, and it will most likely be more than one person, all with weapons and an extensive knowledge of magic. Are you ready?"

"Not after you said that."

Joan snorted a small laugh, her free hand going to cover her mouth. She looked at Alex with soft eyes, though there was a certain gleam to them that made Alex nervous.

"That is how it will likely be from here on out. I will be somewhere in the forest, and I have a few friends also hidden. Those wearing blue, like you, are your allies, but there are only three of them—Jon, Caleb, and Sakura—and those wearing red, like me, are your enemies. Those helping me fight you are Alejandro, Joseph, Toris, Acelin, and Aya. You will need to find your allies. I, nor _my_ allies, know where they are. You will need to find your home base yourself while at the same time, fending off me and the other Reds. Have fun." Joan whispered something and then she and her staff dissolved into mist, which was carried off into the trees.

_So that's why she wore that shirt and insisted I wear this one…_ Alex bit the inside of her cheek. She had thought that Joan had just chosen something that would be more comfortable to fight in—same for Alex.

The halter was because of her wings. She had four, but Joan had taken out the navy one and thrown it in her face, saying that that one would be best. Now Alex knew why, and she was supposed to search for her "allies" in over forty-six-_thousand_ acres of forest?! How the heck was she supposed to do _that_?!

Breathing deeply, Alex remembered how Joan told her that she was able to manipulate any element, but all elements except for wildlife would drain her of energy. Her parents had allowed her to sleep in while her brothers went to school, but Joan had woken her up a little after seven and then brought in more food than Alex used to eat in a day. Alex had not eaten all of it, leaving the last of the eggs and sausage for Joan, who had eaten even more than Alex. Joan had said that Alex needed to get her strength up while she could, but there was no guarantee that Alex would have the luxury to always get enough food or sleep. This was not a book where the heroine came out on top each time. Alex could _die_. This exercise and all the ones they would try to host afterwards were to help prepare Alex and make sure that did not happen.

"Well, here goes nothing." Alex closed her eyes and tried to remember back in her dreams when Idolon transformed into different animals. Joan had told her that she could also communicate with animals.

Using wildlife would use the least amount of energy, so Alex decided to do that first. Concentrating, Alex thought of herself becoming a bald eagle. She knew what they looked like, and she figured that searching from the air would be best. They were also predators, so she would not have to worry about other animals mistaking her as a snack.

Her skin began to prickle as she shrank, her clothes slipping off as her bones shifted and morphed. Somehow, the process was not painful whatsoever, and it was fairly quick, taking only seconds. Alex opened her eyes, trying to gasp. Instead, a high-pitched eagle's call left her hard beak, and she no longer wore her clothes. They were on the rock, and Alex wondered how it was Joan's clothes just seemed to pop off and back on magically.

_That spell_, she realized after a couple more seconds. _Joan had recited a spell right before transforming into Gatobella. That must be a way to make sure her clothes stay on. Dammit, why didn't she share that bit of information with me? More than half of my allies and enemies are _dudes_! Ugh!_

Angry, Alex flapped her arms—now light brown wings—and was soon in the sky. She was amazed at her sight. She could focus on everything she set her eyes on. Even from above the pines, she could spot a mouse darting from one hiding place to another, not wanting to become Alex's lunch. She would have smiled if that was possible, confident that she would be able to find red-clad baddies hidden in the greenery and white with this super-sight.

Something moved through the branches of a towering sycamore that has watched over the land for centuries. Alex dove for the movement, her instincts taking over before her rationality could catch up with her. Her talons were outstretched when a rustling slammed into her sensitive ears. She neared the source of the movement when she was suddenly knocked back onto the trunk of a pine, knocking snow from a low branch to the ground. She fell on the ground hard, finding that she was now a human again, her body bare and exposed to the electric blue eyes before her.

The eyes then changed to grey-green, surprising Alex. She would have to ask Joan about that later, but at the moment, she was so embarrassed, she'd be red from head to toe if not for her dark skin (now another shade darker than yesterday). Also, the man in front of her had a war hammer in each hand, and his lips were a straight line. The scarlet shirt he wore did not compliment his extremely pale skin, which almost made him seem ghost-like to Alex, showing the veins beneath his skin clearly. He came after Alex, who suddenly leaped up and was in the air again after two flaps of her powerful wings.

Bent forward from the swing of his heavy hammer, the back of his head was exposed. Alex used a stomp kick in the back of his neck, forcing him down. He hit his head on the trunk of the tree, and Alex took one of his war hammers, watching as snow fell and dampened his fair hair.

The hammer was heavy in her hands, but she got used to the weight and hit him in the side. She had aimed for his back, but he was already turning around, his eyes now pale pink. He clenched his teeth and held his side with a free hand, getting up. Alex dodged his hampered blow easily, and she was about to hit him again when a small arrow-looking weapon suddenly popped out of nowhere and lodged itself into Alex's upper arm, drawing blood.

Alex shrieked and dropped the hammer, which the man caught easily. Alex had fallen a few feet—just low enough for the blond man to kick himself up off the trunk, his elbow driving into Alex's diaphragm. His upper arm and shoulder touched her breasts as she fell to the ground, having trouble breathing, and the man's eyes turned magenta, blood rushing to his pale cheeks.

Leaves scattered and snow slid across the forest floor as Alex hit her head, and pain shot down her spine as well as through her wings. It was still weird to feel those, and it was even weirder to feel pain in them. Suddenly, another man, his long brunette hair pulled back into a low ponytail, stepped out of the shadows, his emerald eyes watching Alex with a sort of manner than reminded Alex of Justin when he examined the subjects of his science experiments. This new man's ears were long—nearly three inches from lobe to double-tip—and there was a third point an inch away from the lobe. He smiled suddenly, showing long fangs that reminded Alex of Juliette and her family.

"Why Alejandro, you cannot handle a young girl?" He pulled out more of those arrow-shaped weapons (just longer, narrower, and with short stems for grasping between his fingers) from a pouch tied to his belt. "May I?"

"Sure the smell of blood will not rouse you, Toris?" asked Alejandro in a joking tone, his accent reminding Alex of her mother's, though still different in some way Alex could not place. He dropped a hammer and dragged Alex up onto her feet by her arm, forcing her to let out a small shriek. "She speaks."

"And your eyes are pink," Toris noticed. "What, touched her somewhere you shouldn't?" Toris smirked, coming closer to Alex. She glared at him, feeling like this wasn't a training session. If it was, would they really hurt her like this? Would they really seem to enjoy it this much?

Before she was even able to see clearly again, Alex drove her elbow into Alejandro's chest, forcing him to let go of her and back up, grunting with pain. Alex then immediately ducked as Toris threw the small, dark grey weapons, which wedged themselves into the tree behind her. She got the hammer closest to her and swung it hard at Toris in a crouching position, hoping to either get him in the shins or knees.

Unfortunately, he dodged, but Alex took that moment to gather the rest of her concentration and transformed into a deer. She darted away, and dodged the trees easily in such an agile body as the arrow in her arm fell out and sunk into the snow. She kept her ears moving, scanning for any stray movement. She had tried the offensive, and it earned her a cut in her arm, the air knocked out of her lungs, and possibly a concussion. She would just have to find "headquarters", where she would find her blue-clad allies.

Suddenly, the sun reflected off a powder blue sleeve, and Alex skidded to a stop under another pine tree that had a few lower branches. She transformed back into her human self, surprised by how easily that was getting. Sweat lined her hairline and ran down her neck and arms, her skin prickling at the growing cold. She looked up, seeing the blue again. Only, there was a flash of bright red alongside of it. A short man—possibly a couple inches shorter than Joan—leaped down from one of the lower branches, aiming for Alex with a side kick on his way down. Without thinking, Alex dodged and grabbed his leg, swinging him into the tree. He dropped the club he had been holding, which looked like a thick stick with a large rock with weird etchings on it stuck at the top. Alex let go of the man and quickly took him in:

That powder blue sleeve Alex had seen was actually the man's skin. His hair was thick and azure, a single lock longer than the rest of the spikes, falling next to the corner of his right eye and wrapped in cloth, giving a sort of tribal design. His almond-shaped eyes were also blue—dark blue that looked almost black. Alex had never seen a person like him, but with his short-sleeved, red shirt, he looked like a smurf covered in blood. Only, his ears were long—slightly longer than those of Toris—the sharp point bent beck slightly. He wore three silver earrings just below the point on his left ear, the top earring holding a dangling sapphire stone. He had a mature face, but his eyelashes—matching the color of his hair—seemed a bit long for a guy in Alex's opinion.

Grunting, the man began to get up, but Alex turned to run. She never got to, Toris there, his large hands now wrapped around her wrists, keeping her arms behind her back. Alex noticed that they were the same height, giving him perfect reach for her unguarded neck.

He watched her as he spoke to the smurf: "Joseph, I think you and Alejandro are losing your touch." He clutched her arms more tightly as Alex tried to struggle out of his grip. "What, want to leave already, _malen'kaya_?"

"She's stronger than she looks," remarked Joseph. Alex heard him hit his club against the palm of his hand, getting ready to beat Alex with it.

"Based on her lineage, you are surprised?" Toris smiled, and Alex tried to twist so as to knee him in the groin.

He sidestepped and caught her strike with his knee, slamming her into the tree, causing the bark to dig into her skin and ruffle her feathers as white flakes fell over her and the Vampire.

He did not seem to care about her nudity as much as Alejandro had, but Alex was feeling _very_ uncomfortable in this close proximity without clothing to cover her body. Especially with a Vampire—images of those vampire movies came flooding into Alex's mind. She needed to get away, but in the seconds it took her to transform into a squirrel or field mouse, he would have already grabbed her. Alex was not very tired—especially with the adrenaline pumping through her veins—so she decided to try a trick she had seen Joan use before. Only, instead of mist, Alex pictured herself becoming air.

It took a little longer than becoming an animal, but she soon heard Toris gasp in surprise and Joseph charge forward. He went right through her, and Alex was soon swept away, a part of the breeze. Even though her eyes had been closed before, she was seeing again, her range of sight much wider than before. She spotted another person crouched in a high branch of a tree. Her eyes scanned the forest floor, and iridescent, dragonfly-like wings were folded against her back. Her black hair was in a pixie cut, the long bangs swept across to cover her left eye, the tips dyed gold. Alex avoided her and searched for anyone with a blue shirt.

She was floating for maybe a minute before she caught a glimpse of a tall man with skin darker than hers crouching behind a huge rock that jutted out of the ground, acting almost as an overhang. His long-sleeved shirt was deep blue, bringing out the blue rims around his chocolate-colored eyes. Alex would have smiled if she could, and she pictured herself lowering towards the earth and becoming solid. Her molecules shifted and contracted before slamming together violently, sending sharp pain throughout Alex's body. To make things worse, she had become a solid human four feet above the ground, but she managed to open up her wings, slowing her descent. She landed on soft knees, but a scream had already been ripped from her lungs when her molecules slammed together so painfully, and she was now scanning the land for someone hiding in the flickering shadows.

Snow crunched as a man maybe an inch taller than she was came running towards her, his eyes amber and glowing like leftover embers from a campfire. He held a staff out in front of him. His black hair, like Joseph's, stuck out in all directions, but there was no lock of wrapped hair grown down to his broad shoulders. His ears were about the size of Alex's, also with a sharp point instead of the normal curve Alex had been used to seeing. There were two more points on his ears however: one on the curve leading to the most prominent, and one barely an inch away from the lobe. The points almost gave his ears a leaf-like appearance.

He sprinted towards Alex, but when she dove out of the way, the only thing he did was abruptly slam the staff into ground, pole-vaulting over Alex's head. He did one flip before landing in a crouch, the staff held out to the side. Alex stepped back into a sparring stance she had seen in a movie, but the man merely smirked, got up, and swept the staff under Alex's feet in a swift motion Alex had never seen coming. She fell back but caught herself, though her wings were hit by another wave of pain, once again throwing Alex off-kilter.

The man smacked Alex in the ribs with his staff, which was made of an extremely hard wood. She caught the end of the staff when he wound up for another swing, but the smirk was still on his face, and there was a shine to his eyes that Alex did not like. He quickly made a powerful, fluid motion, swinging the staff in a wide circle, forcing Alex into the air, her wings once again feeling pain as she hit a tree. She felt something trickle down her back, and she was pretty sure that it was blood, mixing with sweat. Turning into air had taking some energy out of her, and her skin was now covered by the liquid that amplified the effects of the cold breeze. She did not know how far away she was from the man in the blue shirt, but she needed to get there soon.

"Giving up?" This guy had an accent that sounded French to Alex.

_Okay, Spanish with eyes that change color, Russian with fangs, not sure about the blue guy, and now French dude with leaf-ears. What, did Joan want me to get beat up by the whole world?_ "Never," she answered him.

Alex could not believe how much it hurt to speak. Her throat was raw again, and the pain of all of her injuries began to add up, becoming even worse. She ached all over, and she just wanted to go home; take a long, hot bath; gorge on chocolate (she started to like it again after last year); and go to sleep until the week was over. But first, she would need to beat this guy and find headquarters. She did not know how far away that rock was, but the cluster of trees was not as thick as before, so Alex guessed that it was not too far. Also, she knew the exact direction. She did not know _how_, but just knowing was good enough at the moment.

"Have it your way," replied the man, charging towards Alex.

When he was only a few feet away, Alex jumped into the air with all of her might and started flapping, quickly turning herself into a sparrow. She used a serpentine maneuver to try and lose the man. She flew in the direction of the rock and the blue shirt, but she was unexpectedly turned back into a human by some unknown force, ripping another scream from Alex's tired lungs. She began to fall but quickly flapped her powerful wings, the tips scraping against tree branches. She went into a dive before flapping again to get away from the troublesome branches, but a sharp pain abruptly filled her calf. She screamed and fell down a few more feet, the red fluid running down her leg. Alex yanked out what looked like a sharpened chopstick, but it was heavier with symbols carved into the wood. The tip was coated in crimson liquid, and Alex dropped it, seeing the woman with the dragonfly-like wings, her head inches below the man's shoulder.

Her unveiled, grey eye—darker than Alex's eyes and could be mistaken as black—locked on Alex's face. She gritted her teeth and threw another sharpened stick after quickly blowing on one end of it. Alex dodged so the stick missed her shoulder by a hair, and she flew in a different direction, not wanting these two to follow her to the headquarters. She was getting tired though, and her head hurt.

_If they're my allies, then why the heck aren't they helping me here?_ Alex kept flying and dodging, trying not to think about that outside force that had transformed her back into a human. Was it that woman? If so, how did she do it? How could she possibly be able to do something like that?

"_Le mur_!" the man shouted, and almost instantly, Alex collided with some invisible barrier, sending shooting pain throughout her body.

She fell again, hitting a low branch of a deciduous tree, almost all of the brown leaves gone from its boney fingers. Snow mixed with her blood and sweat as more pain shot through her legs, back, and wings, and Alex began to think that she may not be able to fly anymore if this kept up.

"_FIRE_!" shrieked Alex, picturing the raging flames surrounding the man and woman. They did instantly, and Alex felt even more drained. The woman began to screech in panic as the man shouted words in French as the snow all around them began to melt.

The flames were too tall for them to see Alex, so she took the moment to fly towards the snow-capped rock, almost landing at the blue shirt's feet as his eyes widened in shock. Alex tried to push herself up, the man with sharply pointed ears helping her onto her feet. She looked into his concerned eyes, her voice portraying the weakness she felt.

"Am I done?" she asked softly.

"Not yet, _malen'kaya,_" said a voice from behind Alex.

The dark-skinned man let go of Alex and brought out a knife when one of Toris's arrowheads lodged itself into his hand, right above the wrist. The knife fell to the ground, and Alex turned to see Toris standing next to Joseph and Alejandro. Toris smirked, and Alex quickly picked up the knife, breathing hard.


	15. Ten of Wands

**Chapter 15: Ten of Wands**

"_Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand." - Native American saying_

Dried blood stained her arm and leg as fresh cuts opened up on her shoulder, along her ribs, her hip, and her abdomen. Three against two was not fair. It got even worse when the woman and man Alex had trapped in a ring of fire showed up, soot on their clothes and faces in patches. Part of the woman's right sleeve had been burned away, that part of her arm was bright red and had blisters. Some blood had poured down onto her hand, and more burns also marked her legs and torso. Her hair was poking out in all directions, and the man did not look any better.

His shirt was torn, some of it looking black, and he had even more burns than the woman, many looking serious. Surprisingly, though, his staff looked fine, and he immediately leaped forward, coming after Alex, who was fighting Toris. The blue-shirt quickly kicked away Alejandro and used an inner crescent kick on the black-haired man, bringing him to the ground. The staff left his hands, and his head hit the rock. A sharpened stick pierced his lower back, and a bellow of pain was ripped from his lungs. Alex turned in surprise, Toris grabbing her by the neck and around the waist. He brought her close to his body and shouted to the woman in a language she didn't know. She gave a nod, and he began to take off with Alex back into the thicket.

Terrified about what the plan may be, Alex realized that Toris did not bind her wings. She was not sure if she could lift him, but she was going to go into the air, and she was going to make sure he fell. Her wings beat hard, and Toris skidded to a stop in surprise. Alejandro shouted from behind them, running towards the two. Footsteps came their way, and Alex slowly lifted into the air, her nails digging into the muscled arms of her unwanted passenger. Alex's wings were becoming strained, and she decided to try a spell. She had no idea if this would work, but if Joan was correct earlier, then it should.

"GET BACK!" she shrieked, suddenly losing energy.

Just as the words left her mouth, Toris was shot down to the ground, almost landing on Joseph. Alex flew higher, her breathing becoming labored. Sweat dripped into her eyes and fresh cuts, and Alex shook her head, tangled and knotted hair sticking to her face, neck, and shoulders. She needed to come up with a plan. Her ally was now fighting all of those Reds, except for the woman, who was now flying towards Alex, her iridescent wings barely visible as they beat as rapidly as a hummingbird's. She held three sharpened sticks between the fingers of her right hand, which was above her opposite shoulder, ready to throw the weapons at Alex. She did, and Alex stretched out her arms, fingers outstretched out of instinct.

"SHEILD!"

The weapons bounced off of some invisible barrier right in front of Alex's palm, pale blue sparks scattering over where the sticks had hit. Alex quickly dove to the ground, feeling like she may faint. This was _way_ more exercise she had gotten in a lifetime. Living in New York City, she would walk up to five to seven miles a day, but that was just walking. The worst that happened was she would be tossed through the crowds or trip over something—maybe even slip over a patch of ice the salt had not yet melted when it was winter.

Today, however, she had flown, shape-shifted, turned into air, summoned fire, casted two spells, got covered in bruises and other wounds, and ran for her life. This was much more than she had ever done, and she was not sure how much more she could take. She now dove towards Alejandro, helping out her ally. He handed her another knife, which she used against Alejandro, whose eyes were currently the color of amethysts.

Alejandro swore but did not back down. He faked to the left, and Alex fell for it, losing the knife when Alejandro's real attack nearly broke her arm. Alex could not believe she had not seen that knee strike coming, and she hugged her arm to her chest before suddenly tackling Alejandro to the ground, dirt and pine needles sticking to her sweat-soaked skin as they got covered in snow.

Joseph yanked her back up by the hair, causing her to let out a scream that echoed throughout the forest. Alejandro kicked her in the diaphragm, abruptly silencing the scream as the air rushed out of her lungs, and he brought her up and tossed her over to Toris as the woman and amber-eyed man threw the blue shirt against the rock. Dried blood marked the back of the leaf-eared man's head, unnerving Alex slightly.

She heard Joseph shout something, but her ears were ringing too much for her to understand him. She fought to breathe, Toris and Alejandro trying to carry her away. Alex could then get air into her lungs, but Toris had learned from his mistake and had her wings bound. She would have to cast a spell to get away, but she was feeling exhausted. Her hair probably looked like a raccoon's nest, and her muscles were _beyond_ sore.

Swallowing, she noticed something as Alejandro and Toris dragged her towards the cluster of trees: They were panting slightly. They were growing tired. True, they were _nowhere_ near Alex's point of exhaustion, but it was a start.

She screamed at the highest pitch possible, and Toris dropped her in shock. Alejandro still held her legs, but she quickly hoisted herself up into a sitting position, her abs crying out in agony, and got Alejandro in a headlock. She yanked him forward, forcing him to drop her. Toris came up behind her, but Alex did a back kick into his stomach. She then ran back towards the rock, running up the side and leaping off the top, nearly slipping on the snow and ice. The top was maybe six feet over the ground, and she flapped hard, her ally running after her with long strides. The man who spoke French was trying to push himself up onto his feet, blood dripping from his mouth. Alex's ally looked forward as he ran at an amazing speed.

"Fly northeast!" He shouted to her, his accent making him sound as if he were from Australia. "I'll head west and have them chase after me! I'll meet with you later!"

"How do I find the headquarters?" Alex questioned, having to shout.

"Look for a woman who looks like the woman back there, but with blue eyes and long hair in a braid. Her name is Sakura!" He then turned sharply, never skipping a beat. Alex headed northeast, still knowing where each direction was, as if there were a compass in her brain.

She dove for the ground, arms stretched in front of her. Within seconds, her wings were gone; her spine was flexible, allowing her the longest strides possible; her hands and feet were paws with claws that acted as cleats; and she was traveling at nearly seventy miles-per-hour. Her rust-colored eyes scanned the land, her large heart pumping the blood needed for this speed as air traveled through her large lungs. However, she soon began to tire, slowing down quickly. She began panting, trying to push herself towards the headquarters to finally end this sadistic game. She began to overheat, and Alex began to wonder if it really was possible for one's blood to boil.

She transformed back into a human in midstride, skidding across the ground and earning herself red marks over her arms, hands, chest, stomach, legs, knees, and feet. Her chin ached terribly, and red mixed with brown and white as her coat of sweat just made the pain worse. She struggled to push herself up with two hands grasped her right forearm, making her flinch from both pain and fear that she would have to fight another red-shirt in her condition.

Luckily, though, this woman wore a blue shirt, but she had the face of the woman in red. The only differences were her blue eyes and long hair tied into a braid and thrown over her left shoulder. There was something else weaved into the braid. It looked like some sort of thick, leather strap with thorns sticking out of it to keep enemies from using the braid as a handhold during a fight. Also like the other woman, she had iridescent wings resembling those of a dragonfly, but hers had a light pink tint gliding over them.

She softly said, "My name is Sakura. Come on, follow me. Can you walk?"

Alex just nodded and followed the short woman with staggering footsteps. Sakura walked with confidence as they neared a trail leading up into a huge rock face that overlooked a lake. It looked like a second level of the forest, trees at the top and going on farther than Alex could see. The trail went up where it would be easier to get to the top, and marking the rock face were what looked like stakes to thread ropes through for rock climbers. The trail Sakura led Alex though towards still looked steep however, and Alex was not sure how she would fare hiking up to this so-called headquarters.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it up that," Alex said through her labored breathing.

Her mouth was dry, her throat was sore, and her eyes stung to where her vision had become blurred. She nearly collapsed when Sakura caught her, though with such a petite frame, Alex was already nearly on her knees. Sakura sat her down, and pain traveled through Alex's thighs and calves. She caught herself before falling back and making the pain worse.

"_Shizuka ni naru_," Sakura whispered, grabbing Alex's shoulders. "I will give you some of my energy. You will feel dizzy and possibly feel some nausea, but you will not be so exhausted." She looked into Alex's eyes, her pupils dilating.

A sound tickled Alex's ears, but it did not come from Sakura. It seemed to appear in Alex's head, sounding upbeat and happy. It was like those Latin songs her mom would play, but there were mainly woodwinds with guitars in the background. Snare drums and a bass drum beat in the background, carrying on the tempo. There were a few trills where a trumpet came in, but the flutes and piccolos took the melody, their high-pitched sounds leading all the others. Alex's eyes closed as she listened to the song, allowing it to wrap around her like her mother's comforting hug when she was a toddler having woken up from a nightmare. Alex's heartbeat nearly matched the quick tempo, and some pain eased from Alex's limbs and head.

It all stopped so suddenly, wrenching Alex's eyes open. Her heartbeat slowed to a normal rate, and Alex was able to stand up without collapsing again. Her stomach churned, making her heave, though nothing came out. Her head spun, but, just as Sakura had promised, she was no longer exhausted. Tired, still, of course, but she would be able to hike up the trail without fainting. Sakura stood as well, her eyes tired and hairline dampened with sweat beads that were not there before. Her copper skin looked radiant in the sunlight, but it was shiny and damp. She smiled at Alex.

"Come on." She marched forward, her strides still just as confident, despite her loss of energy. "You will soon get used to this sort of thing, and Svajonė will later teach you how to borrow energy from other living things and even borrow energy from the different elements."

"She can do that?" Alex was wondering about Joan.

She could do all this stuff Alex had only recently started to learn about, but she forgot to let Alex know about a simple spell that would have helped her avoid being naked in front of all these people? It reminded Alex of those _really_ smart people at school (the kind that made even Justin look dumb) that could do equations that Alex did not even know existed but had to count their fingers to do simple math.

"_Nai_," Sakura answered, "but she has been told how the process goes by someone who can. Hurry, and please be quiet. The forest has ears, and we need to get to headquarters without a red-shirt following us."

The two hustled up the trail, and along the way, Sakura would pick up stones and throw them in different ways, breaking twigs, scattering leaves, and making imprints in the snow. She had told Alex to be careful of her steps and not to disturb anything and to not put weight on her whole foot when she stepped as to not create a distinct trail. Sakura would create false trails, and they could hopefully get to headquarters without being followed. She assured Alex that she had brought extra clothes that should be about Alex's size—she had anticipated something like this possibly happening.

It only took about two minutes for them to near the top, but Sakura then suddenly turned to go off-trail, and she once again told Alex to make sure to step lightly and to not disturb much. They could not leave trace of them having traveled this way. Alex obeyed, wanting this game to be over. It was another minute before they reached a giant deciduous tree with a trunk that was so wide, if her family were all there and hugged the tree with arms stretched as far as possible, their fingertips would not reach each other's. There were thinner pine trees around it and another deciduous tree a few feet to the right of it, though it nowhere near as big. These trees looked like they helped the colossal tree hold up its canopy in the spring and summer. Walking around it, Alex saw a small opening that was about four feet high three feet wide at the bottom, getting narrower as it sloped upward into a point. Sakura went through without much trouble, but Alex had to monkey-crawl to get into the hollow trunk.

"Senka Divines!" A man who looked to be in either his late teens or early twenties looked away. He shielded his coffee-colored eyes from Alex's nude body with a well-callused hand. Blood rose to his cheeks, barely visible on his sun-bronzed face. His brown hair was short and stylishly messy, and Alex noticed that his ears, like Sakura's and the other guy's, were sharply pointed.

Alex's ears were now like that as well.

Sakura quickly took Alex to the other side of the empty space, where a rice paper screen had been set up. Behind it was a long-sleeved shirt the color of the sky and cloth pants that were the color of night. Sakura left Alex to dress herself and began to speak to the man in what sounded like Japanese. Alex ignored them, also finding a bra and some underwear. She put on the outfit, seeing that the shirt had a bare back and a ribbon to tie over the small of her back. She tied a bow with a double knot, the collar of the shirt feeling weird. It had somewhat of a V-shape, though the V was wide, the top of it nearly going off her shoulders. The cloth was soft, but it felt strong, and when she came out, and the man saw her dressed, he sighed in relief, and Alex could not help but blush, though she was sure that it did not show.

"_Gomenasai_, but besides you and Svajonė, Caleb here is the youngest here at twenty-one. He was also raised on more traditional values when it came to the virtue of women and men." Sakura motioned for Alex to come, and Alex obeyed, hoping this was over. She wanted to go home, eat, and rest. She also wanted to drink about a gallon of water—and she never drank water.

Looking down at Sakura without moving his head, Caleb murmured, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

He was the only one here Alex had heard speak with an American-sounding accent she was familiar with, though he sounded to be maybe from the mid-west. He was also about her height, though his spiky hair added about an inch or so.

"It's not a bad thing." The dark-skinned man crawled through the opening, looking worn. His hand had stopped bleeding, but he now had lacerations over his chest, stomach, arms, and back. "Sakura is just trying to pick on you." He stood up and smiled at Alex. "Hello, my name is Jon."

Nodding, Alex asked, "_Now_ are we done?"

Caleb was about to speak when he was suddenly sliced across the back by the bottom blade of Joan's weapon. She had appeared out of thin air, her lips playing a smirk.

"_Ne_," she stated, and Alex knew that it meant "No."

She groaned and got herself ready. Joan fell back as Caleb kicked her under her chin, but she twirled her weapon, only missing by Caleb's head by inches. If he had not ducked, she would have gotten him. Jon leapt in to get her with an uppercut, but Joan stepped back just in time, catching his wrist with one of her crescent moons, which acted as a hook. She yanked him to the side, tearing through his dark umber skin. She tried to charge towards Alex, but Caleb grabbed her around the waist and threw her down, the weapon falling from her grip. Sakura pushed Alex towards the small opening as Jon shouted all of a sudden.

"What's going on?" Alex demanded, squeezing through the opening.

Outside the tree, Sakura pushed Alex east, quickly explaining, "Our hideout has been discovered. We have two options: Kill them or get killed."

"_Killed_?!" What kind of sick game _was_ this?! Alex may have pointed ears and wings now, but was _still_ flesh and blood. She wanted to keep it that way.

"Don't worry," Sakura quickly assured. "This _is_ just a training exercise after all. A kill in this exercise is to draw blood in a place of the body that could be considered fatal. Joseph, Acelin, and my sister, Aya, are already out. That means they are at that creek where you first started. The only ones left are Toris, Alejandro, and Svajonė, but they are strong and will not die easily."

"Wait…" Alex remembered back at that rock not long ago. "Acelin was bleeding in the back of the head and still fought, and so was Jon."

"We forget sometimes," replied Sakura. "Also, with the adrenaline, it is sometimes a while before you notice some injuries. Plus, Jon's bleeding probably stopped quickly. It has to stop within thirty seconds or you're out."

She smiled as she and Alex ran through the forest, stopping by an evergreen, using the thick covering of deep green needles to hide their bodies. Sakura brought out oriental paper fans from her pockets, but where the thin wood should be, there were blades that came up two inches past the curved ends of the fan. Also, instead of paper, the fans were made of strong fabric that was dark red-pink and had golden flowers playing tag over the silver vines.

"Some game," Alex muttered under her breath, making Sakura laugh.

They were quiet after that, listening. Alex could still hear fighting from within that monstrous tree, but it sounded like only two were fighting. Either Jon or Caleb was now "dead" by Joan's hand, and there were two others out there, ready to try and take Alex away. She guessed that either she was the trophy or the object of this game was for Alex to be with her allies and the others were trying to keep her as far away as they could. However, according to Sakura, the object of this brutal game had just changed to "killing" Toris, Alejandro, and Joan.

The two men suddenly appeared, both with contusions and lacerations all over their bodies. Toris made the first move, using a reverse side kick on Alex, but she caught his foot and twisted it one way, causing him to stumble. Alejandro only had one of his hammers left, and he tried to hit Sakura with it, but she dodged easily, getting him in the arm with one of her blades, near the shoulder. She had almost gotten him in the chest, but he was just as fast as she was. The four fought each other, Alex trying to scratch Toris in the head with her chipped nails, but he anticipated her movements, his lips still in a smirk despite his tired eyes.

"_Help_! Codes Eight and Nine!" Caleb suddenly shouted from the huge tree. Everyone stopped and looked that way, Toris, Alejandro, and Sakura sharing worried looks. Joan's terrified scream cut through the forest, and Alex leaped into a sprint, Toris and Alejandro running up to get in front of her.

Sakura had her fans folded up as she ran up next to Alex, and she spoke into a cuff bracelet that had been hidden by her bell-shaped sleeve. The bracelet was gold and had Celtic designs winding through it. She pressed one of the designs, and it lit up in a yellow-white light. She brought it up to her mouth, and in a serious voice, she stated, "Everyone, Code Eight and Code Nine! Near the Red Cedar southeast of the lake."

She then brought her hand down and kept running, her bright eyes narrowed and focused. They soon reached Caleb and Joan, who were fighting off thirteen people. Alex recognized the krikols, garudas, and banshees from one of those memories Idolon sent her, and there were some that were deathly pale and looked nightmarish with gaunt faces; dark circles around their eyes; and blood dripping from their long, sharpened teeth and nails.

There were also another few that basically looked half-bat and half-human. The lower half was bat, covered in fur with short legs and sharp claws, and their arms were large wings. They also had huge mouths filled with pointed teeth, did not wear shirts, and their skin was as pale as their comrades. Alex was sure that the deathly-pale people were Undead, but their skin was sliced through as easily as a living person. The only difference was that it healed quickly, thin threads of skin snapping over the wounds and pulling them closed. Alex felt like puking.

One of the more humanoid Undead men came after Alex. Sakura stepped out in front of her, fans at the ready. She swung one in a graceful movement, slicing though the brown-haired man's throat with ease. The wound started to heal, but Sakura sliced four more times in quick succession, the blades hitting his spine. Alex backed up, finally vomiting next to the tree behind her. With a jump-round kick, Sakura nearly beheaded the man, and Alejandro came over and finished him off with a blow from his war hammer. The head tumbled towards Alex's bare feet, the hazel eyes wide and staring at her as the body fell to the ground, a bit of crimson dribbling over the leaves, dirt, and snow.

Alex's stomach began churning again at the horrible smell, and Sakura and Alejandro stayed near her, and Sakura turned to give Alex a look that said, "Don't you dare move." Alejandro kicked the head away, and Alex gagged, a bit of bile traveling up her throat.

Jon leaped from one of the trees onto the shoulders of one of the winged Undead, plunging a knife into her skull. She shrieked and threw her head back, and Jon yanked out the knife, thrusting it into one of her green eyes, giving a twist and popping out the eye and cracking her skull when he yanked back. She howled even louder, lost concentration, and fell to the ground. Jon ended up hitting his head on a nearby tree, but he was fine. He drove the knife into the winged Undead's chest, breaking the breast plate. He twisted the knife and jerked out her heart, and light left the bat-woman's eyes for good.

Jon was then attacked by a garuda, but Acelin came in from the shadows and whacked the beast across the head. Turning around to face her new opponent, Jon quickly took the opportunity to stab her in the back, right between the wings. A booming roar that made Alex cover her ears erupted from the garuda's throat, staining her white fur with dark red, but she slashed at Acelin with those long, violet claws. Acelin didn't get out of the way fast enough, those three claws catching him at the stomach. He grunted and gritted his teeth, amber eyes burning with rage.

"_Merde_," he spat. He attacked again as a female banshee came towards Alex with a male banshee and two male krikols following close behind.

The banshee's stringy, green-and-blue hair covered some of her gaunt, blue-tinted pale face that made her look as if she had drowned. The krikol snarled as Alejandro tried to hit him in the head with his war hammer. Sakura tried to get the two banshees at once, missing both, but Alejandro got one in the ribs as he struck the krikol in the forearm as he came forward. The banshee he kicked hissed at him, and Sakura sliced her at the jugular vein.

Blood spurted, and Alex gagged, watching as the banshee's skin healed just like that Undead's had. Sakura had tried to slice the banshee again before her wound had healed itself, but the male banshee pinned her to the ground, biting her on the shoulder. She screamed, and Alex gasped, trying to think of something. She was frozen in place, hearing everything around her. They were outnumbered, and they were tired from the training exercise. Alex closed her eyes, trying to think of something. The words from this boring movie she only watched the beginning of came to her mind: _Kill or be killed._

Sakura screamed again but kicked the banshee off of her, blood running down her arm like a stream of rubies. She attacked the banshee that had bits of her copper flesh between his sharp teeth and sliced through his throat before getting attacked from behind by another krikol. He was about to bite her with his long fangs when Alex opened her eyes and pictured him consumed with blue and white flames. They appeared just before he reached Sakura, their war song filling Alex's sensitive ears.

The krikol howled in pain, giving energy to the fire. Sakura let Alex keep burning him as she ran to Alejandro with the other krikol, kicking him square in the chest. She shouted something Alex couldn't comprehend, and Joan was there, stabbing the krikol in the chest with the crooked, bottom blade of her weapon. She twisted it one way, and the Krikol's golden eyes bulged before he crumpled to the ground.

Joan yanked back out her blade, which was now covered in metallic black liquid. She used the same blade to stab one banshee in the side, and he instantly fell to the ground, screeching in agony. Joan then stabbed two flying Undead, and Sakura stabbed the already-dead krikol with each of her blades to get his blood on them. The krikol Alex had set on fire had become ash, and Alex slumped against the tree, beginning to feel exhausted again. She watched as Sakura took her position back in front of Alex, holding her fans in a way that just _dared_ the Undead and Unspeakables to step forward.

Joan was knocked back into the shadows by another Undead, and she went deeper into the woods, Caleb chasing after to provide her cover from the two winged Undead and the garuda that chased after her. Alex saw six bodies around her, none of them belonging to those she knew. She thanked whoever was watching over them, but many of them now had even more serious injuries to add on to what they already had.

There was a scream from the woods where Joan and Caleb were, and Alex moved to go after her. Sakura stopped her and attacked the Undead and banshee that came for the teenager. They screeched in pain from the krikol's blood that stained the fan's blades, and they later retreated, followed by the garudas and krikols. They all ran away, even the winged Undead that had had Jon's neck in her claws. Two of the garudas and a winged Undead grabbed the twitching bodies on the ground and carried them away as the others watched with wide eyes.

Breathing heavily, Alex slumped, sliding down the trunk of the tree. Sakura lowered her fans, and Alejandro scanned the area with his eyes, which were now hazel. Toris got up from the ground, blood running down his right cheek. Everyone looked at one another, Joseph being the first to speak:

"We need to get her out of here now. That was too easy."


	16. Ten of Swords

**Chapter 16: Ten of Swords**

"_There is no clarity. Everything swirls. The old rules are no longer binding, the old truths no longer true. Right spills over into wrong. Order blends into chaos, love into hate, ugliness into beauty, law into anarchy, civility into savagery." - from The Things They Carried_

_Kill or be killed._

Alex killed.

It was justified, wasn't it?

_Kill or be killed._

Of course it was. That had been a monster, about to kill Sakura.

_Kill or be killed._

That was the law of the wild. It was not the law of society. It was the law of savages. It was not the law of civility.

_Kill or be killed._

Alex could not get those words out of her head. They were the only words that kept her from going completely mad. She was led towards the creek, her eyes wide and refusing to close. Her mind was spinning so fast, she could hardly see straight. It was Jon's hands on her shoulders that kept her from falling down or running into a tree. Joan and Caleb had been found. Joan had to be carried by Toris, her eyes barely open, wide gashes opening her abdomen and thigh. One of her arms looked like it may have to come off if not healed soon, and there were cuts on her face and head.

Her hair was streaked with drying blood, and sounds drifted from between her parted lips, making her sound like a wounded puppy, the cries soft and at a high pitch. Toris held her close, being careful of her arm. He walked in the front of the group alongside of Alejandro, who had Caleb's blood streaming down his back.

The brown-haired boy was riding on his back, a deep wound marking him from between the shoulder blades all the way down to his left upper-thigh. The cut was deep, and thick, crimson liquid dyed his roots. Some bone even stuck out of his left shin. His right foot was twisted at an impossible angle, and his head was slumped to one side, air only barely making it down his windpipe to fill his weakening lungs.

Aya had requested help, and the other voice—she had a communicator bracelet just like Sakura's—informed that two people were on their way. Down by the lake, they stopped, and Alex saw two men that looked to be around Alejandro's age. The blond man with gold-flecked, light grey eyes went over to them, placing the unconscious Caleb into their care.

The two men had ears the same shape as Alejandro's—sharp tip with a second tip less than an inch away from the lobe—and the brunette had hazel eyes while the one with orange-red hair had bi-colored eyes: the right was jade green while the left was green-grey-blue. They nodded at Alejandro and spoke to him in Spanish, calling the brunette Castel and the redhead Rico. They took Caleb, and Rico disappeared with him. Castel stayed behind and came towards Toris and Joan.

His eyes turning pale orange, he examined the whimpering girl and took her injured arm. She yelped in pain, making Alex cringe. Castel whispered in rapid Spanish, and within the course of a couple of minutes, Joan's arm began to heal, and her whimpering began to ebb.

The gashes in her abdomen and thigh had also lessened, the bleeding having stopped for the most part. Her eyes stayed closed, and Castel set her arm down, looking worn. He looked over at Alex with jade green eyes. He asked something in Spanish that Alex guessed was along the lines of, "Is that her?"

She heard the name 'Seraphina'.

Alejandro nodded, and Castel turned away. He disappeared, and Alejandro turned to look at the others as Toris lowered Joan, who began to open her eyes.

"Can you walk?" he asked carefully, acting as if she could break if he spoke too loudly. She nodded and got onto her feet on wobbly legs. Toris stood next to her, arms ready to catch her until she steadied herself.

Alejandro sighed and stated, "We need to get Seraphina home. Her family may be in danger, and we need to get them all to safety before the Evils get to them."

_Kill or be killed._

"_Hai_," Aya agreed. "But we must split up. Toris, Alejandro, Acelin, and Jon are closest to her height. You four will put on cloaks and split up with the rest of us as escorts. Joan, they will most likely look for you, as you are her appointed guardian. You will go with follow Alejandro to the hideout we have in East Village. Joseph will go with Toris to the Waverly substation, Sakura will go with Acelin to Carsten's home in Queens, and I will go with Jon to a hotel on Long Island. Alex, you will follow Toris closely and go to your room through the window. I will call High Commander Landon to request pixies in the area to cast a light-bending spell around you so that you will be invisible."

Everyone nodded in understanding, but the words went through slowly in Alex's mind as if travelling through molasses. Finally, she gave a nod, and there was concern in Aya's ash-grey eyes. Alex was still mulling over what had just happened. Joan took one of Alex's hands, trying to offer a smile. Only, it looked strained, and her eyes still held pain and fear. Alex could not bother to try and smile back. She just took her hand back and looked at the ground as they walked towards where the creek was.

Aya was speaking into her communicator bracelet, and there was a second voice that came from it. Alex guessed it to be High Commander Landon. The voice was feminine and articulate. She had an American accent (Northeast?), and she spoke confidently and with purpose, clearly a person born to be in charge.

She told Aya that she would send some warriors and scouts to the city to keep a good watch over Alex and her family until they could be relocated. Aya gave her thanks and requested that the pixies cast a light-bending spell so Alex could get into her house safely. High Commander Landon consented and said she would get right on that. Aya then turned off her communicator and kept walking, her eyes hard as she listened to everything around her.

They were all on edge, but Alex was the worst, she was sure. The others had seen that sort of thing before. They had _killed_ before. Alex hadn't. Idolon had, but not Alex. The worst she had ever done was forget to feed her goldfish when she was eight. What she had done to that krikol was so much more. It may have been a beast, but it had _looked_ human.

Worst of all, Alex had not hesitated. She tried to tell herself that if she had not done it, Sakura may be dead, but nothing worked. The truth was that she had killed a person without a second thought. Only, it wasn't quick like a gunshot or stab. It was slow. The scent of burning flesh had filled her nose. The sound of his cries as he clung to the last bits of life beat against her ear drums like the drums of war. War was hell. _Life_ was hell.

_Kill or be killed._

She wanted to forget. She _had_ to forget. She had to move on. In this world, there was no true society or civility. There was only a façade of such. It was a savage world. Wilderness was everywhere, even in the concrete jungle that was New York City. Alex saw that every day. Weeds and blades of grass poked out from cracks in the sidewalk, birds and insects flew everywhere, constantly adapting to the steamroller that was man. Nature _refused_ to be tamed or controlled by one of its own creatures.

That's all man was: creatures tricking themselves into believing they were better.

They tricked themselves into thinking they could conquer nature. They tricked themselves into thinking they were above those savages that fought vicious battles over territory and murdered others of their own kind and even their own group. Man did that too. Many of their accomplishments had plans that came from observing these savages.

_Not only was it justified, it was necessary,_ Alex told herself.

Taking deep breaths, she finally looked up, seeing that they had arrived at the creek, where seven people stood. In front was a woman that looked to be maybe just a couple of inches shorter than Alex holding the clothes she had arrived in. They were now folded and in a paper bag.

The woman holding the clothing had copper skin and raven hair cut to just below her earlobes. Her ears were long and went into a thin point like Joseph's, but there was a string of flesh that hung off the point and curled beneath the point slightly. She had three gold studs in the left ear, and she scanned the crowd of nine with her dark brown eyes, her mouth a straight line. She stood with an erect posture and looked to be in either her late twenties or early thirties.

Her voice held a German-sounding accent as she spoke to Alex. "Hello, we will take you all to your destinations. My name is Lorelei. Garrett will take Alejandro and Svajonė to the East Village. Carsten will take Sakura and Acelin to Queens. Laura and Marc will go with Aya and Jon to Long Island, and Xavier and I will go with Toris and Joseph to Waverly Place. Jasmine will fly with you until reaching the city. She will then go high enough to not raise suspicion from civilians but she will still be able to watch you." Lorelei motioned towards the tall woman beside her.

She was thin and a couple of inches taller than Alex, her eyes the color of rust and hair black at the roots, fading to red-brown at the tips. What looked like long feather-like wisps weaved through the hair, and instead of ears, there were just short, light brown and white feathers that made it look like she had wings on the sides of her head. Her skin was darkly tanned with a touch of red, and forest green cloth covered her mouth and nose like a mask.

Her thick hair fell just past her shoulders, and wings like that of a bald eagle were folded against her back. She wore clothing that matched the cloth covering her mouth and nose, and they showed much of her skin, the top only covering her near-flat chest. It looked more like a scarf tied at the back right under her shoulder blades, and her pants were low on the hips and ended right above her knees. Her eyes were soft, but there was a certain edge to them that let people know that she was not one to be messed with.

The groups split up, and Jasmine came over to Alex. Her voice was not muffled by her mask, and there was a slight huskiness to it. "_Mabuhay_, Seraphina. We will walk to the cars before taking off. Also, I have this for you."

She took Alex's left hand, being careful with her long nails, all of which were sharpened to a point. Her other hand, which had been curled around something, hovered over Alex's hand and dropped the object. It looked sort of like an owl's eye. It was dark blue with white in the center. In the middle of the white was light blue, then black.

"It is called a _nazar_," said Jasmine. "Traditionally, it wards off the Evil Eye. It will help to shield you from the view of those in the Evils."

Looking at the charm, Alex nodded, a chill running up her spine. They had been watching her? She gripped the charm, feeling the small hole near the top. Alex would put it on a piece of string when she got home so she could wear it around her neck. She gave a smile of thanks to Jasmine as she looked over at the others. They separated into their groups, and Laura brought Jon into a tight embrace. Tears ran down her coffee-colored skin, and she spoke into Jon's ear. Her lips were plump and painted deep red. Grey-blue dust marked her eyelids, bringing out her stormy eyes. She kissed Jon three times on the lips, and she was a few inches shorter than the man.

She spoke between her cries, saying things like "My love, my love. I thank Leorensenka and his Divines that you are alive." Her accent was identical to Jon's, and he spoke to her as well, trying to tell her that he was alright and to be calm.

Laura nodded and took Jon's hand to her cheek before her eyes widened slightly. She examined his hand, and he sighed. Marking the palm of his hand was a heavy burn. It was just a column of red running from between his thumb and index finger to near his wrist. Aya was giving Garrett a long hug before going to Jon, Marc nearby. The man with short, strawberry blonde hair kissed Sakura on the cheek, having to bend over to do so. His ears were the same shape as Acelin's. Garrett had ears like Lorelei's, poking through his shoulder-length, raven hair. Everyone then went to their groups, and they began to leave.

Jasmine tugged at Alex's arm, and Joan hung back, walking at Alex's other side. Alex saw that she, too, had a similar burn to Jon's on her right palm. It just looked harsher against her fair skin. Alejandro and Garrett hung back along with Joan, and Alejandro's eyes were now hazel-green-blue, expression tense.

"Do not be worried, _mein kumpel_," Garrett said, his emerald eyes straight ahead. He was a couple of inches shorter than Alejandro, but he stood with an erect posture and walked with a long, confident stride. "Melosa knows that you are safe, and so is she. She is on bed rest now though, since her due date draws near." Garrett smiled at Alejandro. "Have you and her discussed a name?"

Alejandro's eyes suddenly turned aquamarine as he smiled. "Miguel. Benita is happy to have a baby brother."

Alex looked over at Jasmine. She had not realized that everyone here had families. Jasmine caught her eye and explained, "Alejandro has been married for six years. Toris, for nine. He's married to a Vampire from Troth. At first, there was a language barrier, but both learned the other's language and soon got married. Now, they have four daughters. Jon is engaged to Laura, Aya is dating Garrett, and Sakura is engaged to Marc. I'm only nineteen, but my parents had met in the Purities as well. Although, not everyone gets married, not wanting to settle down with someone who may never come back."

"It is mostly just you who has those fears, as well as a few warriors, protectors, and spies," Garrett clarified. Alex looked over at him, and he sighed. "You will learn about the Purities in due time, but you may know our main mission now: Despite the name, we are not about vanquishing evil. We work to maintain the balance between good and evil. Both are needed for the cosmos to go on as it is meant to."

"The Purities once fought alongside evil," informed Alejandro. "It was many a millennia ago, when good was close to conquering evil once and for all. This is when the Purities first formed. At first, the Einharuns and Guardians thought that we had become a fifth Evil. Afterwards, however, they realized how important balance was. The Divines created a new dimension for the Purities, which is connected to the dimension which the Einharuns thrive in. The name 'Purities' came more recently—around four centuries ago, I believe—as a joke. The Purities had been fighting alongside of good for a long time, so we were called this to make fun of us. The name caught on, though, and it was kept in place since then."

They walked on in silence after that, Alex taking in the information.

Minutes had gone by before they reached where the cars had been parked. Alejandro, Toris, Jon, and Acelin were brought dark green cloaks. They shielded their bodies and pulled up the hoods, shrouding their faces. Each group got into a different car, and Alex watched Alejandro, then Toris.

Both of them had families. They had children. She looked at Jon. He was engaged. She looked at Laura, the fiancée. Alex prayed that they would all be safe. It had never before occurred to her that they had families. That if they were gone, loved ones would have to be informed that they would not be returning. Alex could not imagine that kind of pain. She didn't want to, so she just looked at Jasmine, who was watching the sky.

Those wing-like things coming out of the sides of her head were twitching, something Alex was not used to seeing. The cars began to leave, and Jasmine took to the air. Alex quickly followed her lead, trying to keep her mind off of her sore muscles and tired body.

Her mind kept blank as she prayed that Jasmine would not want to speak as they flew. Alex did not want to think about what had just happened. Her mind was still spinning. The Purities once fought along with _evil_? She did not understand why balance was so important. People always wished for peace—that wish was in almost every beauty pageant.

Evil kept them from achieving that. Why not just get rid of it? Good almost did it once before the Purities stepped in. Alex's head began to hurt. She decided not to dwell on the issue. She still had trouble remembering what started World War I—to be honest, she couldn't even really remember who _fought_ in World War I. No way would she be able to wrap her mind around the everlasting war of good, evil, and balance.

She clutched the _nazar_.


	17. The Magician

**Chapter 17: The Magician**

"_If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be punishment - as well as the prison" - from Crime and Punishment_

As promised, Jasmine flew straight up right before she and Alex entered the city. Alex kept going towards her house as told, hoping that the pixies were working their magic and making her invisible. No one looked up and pointed or gasped, so Alex guessed that they were. She flew towards her house quickly, finding that the sliding door that led to the terrace was wide open. She swooped in, making sure to tuck in her wings so that she would not bang them on the wall. She did not land very gracefully, catching the top of her couch with her shoulder as she hit the cushion with her head. Her feet hit the coffee table with a **smack**, and her wings were crushed under her, forcing a scream out of her mouth. Something fell over upstairs, and Justin was at the foot of the staircase as Alex pushed herself up onto her feet, groaning. Somehow, she managed to hang onto the charm, which was still clutched in her left hand.

"Alex?" His voice was unsure at first, but after his eyes scanned her battered body, he raced over to her, setting her down. "Whathappened?Areyoualright?Whodidthistoyou?" His words all ran together to create one giant word, and it took Alex a little while to figure out what he was asking.

Fire.

Blood.

Screams.

Death.

Everything swirled in Alex's mind, making no sense. Her hands trembled, but her eyes remained blank as her face stayed straight.

"I'm fine." It came out as a faint whisper. Alex was afraid that she would break down crying if she attempted to say it louder.

Caleb had almost died. He could be dead _now_. What if he hadn't made it to the doctors in time? Joan could have lost her arm. Even after Castel had healed it, she had kept it bent at her side, most of her flesh covered in blood. Jon had gotten gashes on his shoulders and the back of his neck from those winged Undead. It was too much.

Even watching those monsters die had been horrifying. That head had looked right at Alex before it had been kicked away. A winged Undead had gotten its heart ripped out. Alex did not want to deal with something like that on a daily basis.

"I don't believe you." Although Justin was normally very gullible, Alex knew that he could sometimes read her like a book. He often described her as transparent, and though she didn't really know what that meant, she guessed that this was what it meant. She didn't like it. Alex just wanted to go upstairs, clean herself up, and sleep.

Then, she wanted to wake up back in her history class that day when Mr. Laritate was subbing, realizing that this had all just been a dream.

She knew that that was not to be, however, especially when Justin continued, "I don't care that you were adopted—or whatever that could have been called. You're still my baby sister. Now tell me what happened."

Her lip began to quiver, so Alex bit it, finding out something else had changed: Her first pre-molars (top and bottom row) were sharper and longer. They were nowhere near Vampire standards, so Alex was relieved at that, but then she remembered that it reminded her of Joseph's teeth. Could she have some blood of whatever race he was? Either way, they punctured her skin, a bitter, metallic taste trickling over her tongue. Alex had always hated that taste. It was like keeping an oxidized penny on her tongue. She swallowed, though, not wanting the blood to run over her lip and worry Justin even more. He stared at her as Alex licked her bottom lip, making sure the bleeding stopped before she spoke.

"It started out as a training exercise," Alex began in a low voice. Again, she could not risk saying it any more loudly. "I had to make it to this headquarters-type-place to meet my 'allies', who were dressed in blue shirts like me. My 'enemies' were dressed in red, like Joan was this morning."

Alex paused, looking out the window. In the distance, Alex saw what looked to be maybe a bird of prey, but the body was a bit longer than average. Alex guessed that it was Jasmine. "My side was about to win when…"

She couldn't move on. All those pictures swirled together in her mind again. All those smells slammed into her nostrils. Alex coughed and vomited onto the floor near her feet, nearly collapsing. Justin caught her, shock in his eyes. Still, Alex held onto the _nazar_.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "I've got you."

Careful of Alex's wings, Justin picked her up like he may a small child when Dragon entered the room. The charm had been lifted, showing his true form. He was just a little more than three feet from head to tail, his scales a deep grey that challenged storm clouds, his claws like tumbled onyx. His long neck was in a slight _S_ shape, his yellow eyes examining Alex carefully. He only stood as tall as Justin's knee, and his onyx horns were still growing in.

When Justin had first seen Dragon's true shape, he called the wizard veterinarian, who told him that Dragon was a baby of only two years. He would have a lifespan of around fifty years, but he would stay roughly the size he was now his entire life. Greylings were the smallest of the dragons, making them pretty popular pets.

On stubby legs, Dragon waddled over towards Justin, making low, clicking sounds as he stood on his hind legs, trying to sniff Alex. His wings—too small for his body and would be for several more years—flapped as he opened his mouth, making a sort of chirping sound. Justin tried to shoo him away, but Dragon just walked around the other side, and Alex followed him with her eyes. She had originally hoped for a dragon that would grow big enough for her to ride, but he was cute, so his being small was alright. Plus, Alex had no idea where her family would have been able to keep a huge dragon. Alex brought down her hand for Dragon to sniff, which he did, Justin watching. Dragon then licked her palm, his forked tongue long and slimy.

"He's never done that before," Justin noted. Alex tried to get out of his grip, and he allowed her, not wanting her to fall onto the hard wood floor.

Alex picked up Dragon, who closed his eyes and began to make a high-pitched clicking sound, which seemed to be his version of purring. Dragon's whip-like tail hung down in front of Alex's body, his head on her shoulder. The white spikes poking out from his neck rubbed against the hand not holding the _nazar_ as Alex pet the clicking lizard, and Justin stayed close, making sure that she would be alright.

"He's never been this nice to me before," stated Alex. Dragon normally kept his distance from her, probably sensing that Alex never really wanted to take care of him. Or was it Idolon? Did her presence within Alex make Dragon uneasy? Was he friendlier now because she was gone? Or, at least, close to it (Alex was not entirely sure what 'dormant' meant)?

"I heard that animals can tell when an owner is hurt or upset or something," informed Justin, scratching Dragon under the chin. He lifted his head slightly, showing his glee. Justin could not help but crack a smile. The innocence of pets really did help ease the tension.

"I thought those quacks just said that to get money from crazy people wondering why their cats and dogs seem 'unhappy'." Alex normally did not think about animals having the same abilities of humans when it came to feeling emotion. They normally seemed to be content with just eating and sleeping.

Justin was about to speak when Theresa entered the room, a nervous look on her face. She had always been an easy book to read, and Alex soon became worried. She held onto Dragon as she turned to look at her mom. Swallowing, the woman looked very uncomfortable. Her hair had been pulled back for her shift down in the substation, and there was a red tint to her eyes. Her bottom lip had a tremor as she spoke.

"A-Alex, Justin, p-please come down stairs. T-there's two people d-down here to see y-you." Her voice shook, but Alex was no longer nervous. She was curious.

"Is one of them a Vampire wearing a green cloak, and is the other a short dude that has blue skin?" asked Alex. She set Dragon down, having to unwrap his tail from her arm, which had curled around it like a snake when his feet hit the ground. He let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a small frog's croak and a low-pitched click. He tilted his head as he made the sound, but Alex ignored him.

Taking a few deep breaths, Theresa managed a shaky nod. Just then, Dragon made a loud noise that could be considered a roar, though it had a squeak-like chime to it. He shook his head vigorously, making that sound as he ran in a few circles. He then darted to under the table, making that loud noise, as if calling Justin, Alex, and Theresa to come to him. Justin began to go towards Dragon to see what was wrong, but Theresa stopped him, her fingers wrapping around his forearm. She did not say anything else, but her eyes showed that she wanted him and Alex to follow her downstairs. They nodded and followed her, and once downstairs, they saw that the substation was empty. The sign was turned around to tell everyone that it was closed, and the lights had been turned off. In the kitchen, however, light spilled from the crack, showing that Jerry, Max, and the visitors were waiting in the Lair.

Inside, Toris and Joseph stood up as Alex entered behind Theresa and Justin, bowing slightly to the teenage girl. Toris had a bruise at the corner of his eye, and Alex wondered if that came from her or the Evils. She did not really remember too much of the fighting. With such a fast pace, much of it was a blur. Although, she did remember slamming Joseph into a tree when the short, blue man grunted as he sat down. Alex sat in the beautiful chair with the crimson cushion, matching the couch Toris and Joseph sat on. Jerry sat in his usual easy chair, and Max had pulled the chair away from the desk and sat in that. Jerry then quickly stood when Alex sat down, offering his seat to Theresa. She took it gratefully, and Jerry stood next to Justin.

"Are we safe?" Alex asked in a soft voice. Her hands were clasped together in her lap, and her wings felt uncomfortable in that chair, but she dealt with it. She was tired and needed some rest. The revolting taste of vomit stuck to her tongue, the taste renewing when she spoke. She swallowed grudgingly, her throat and nose burning.

Sitting down, Toris rubbed his left temple as he spoke. "We were not followed, if that is what you're asking, but I'm afraid that we are far from safe at the moment." He quit rubbing his temple and met everyone's eyes, starting with Alex and ending with Theresa. "High Commander Landon requested that you all be removed from the city for your own safety. We currently have people stationed all around this part of the city to watch over you, but it may not be enough. Out of the country would be better. Off of the planet would be best. I hear that Justin, Max, and Alex had attended WizTech in the past. Is that correct?" Toris sat up straight and kept on an expressionless face. All that playfulness from earlier was gone. This was serious.

"Who are you?" Justin demanded as Jerry nodded to affirm that he was correct. Justin stood to Alex's left and Max's right and his dad was on Max's left. He held a stance that showed that he was not going to respond to anything or submit to anything until he got the answers he wanted. Alex guessed that they would be here all night.

"My name is Joseph Aguilar," stated the shorter man sitting to the right of Toris, "and this is Toris Solovyov. We are both protectors in the Purities."

"That's impossible," Jerry said forcibly. "The Purities do not exist. The only danger this family is in right now is getting arrested by the Council of Magick, and it is the two of _you_ causing this danger."

The two men sitting on the couch were calm as Jerry yelled at them, but when he was finished, Toris stood up and unclasped his cloak. It fell to his feet, and his emerald eyes locked onto Jerry, a certain gleam in them that made the Wizard take a step back. Toris took off his torn, scarlet shirt, showing lacerations all over her chest and abdomen. Turning around, he showed even more on his back, blood dried much to his lightly tanned skin. He turned back around to face the Russo family, and Alex noticed blotches of blue-black and green-yellow on his shoulders, ribs, waist, and collar bone. Toris put his shirt back on and sat back down, his eyes now emotionless. After staying quiet for a while with a blank face, he finally spoke, his words slow as if he were afraid that he may end up lashing out otherwise.

"Those did not come from the Council of Magick. Some were old, but many of those injuries were from earlier today. My wife, Liliana, was once nearly killed by the Thres Armani's Hydra. Our eldest daughter, Viktoriya, wishes to become a warrior, and she is barely eight years of age. My second eldest daughter, Isabella, has already made up her mind to become a spy, like Liliana. She is only six, seven next month. Joseph here lost his wife in the raid only some months ago. That was the same raid where Liliana nearly met the same fate. Do not tell me what is and is not real. I may be of only thirty-five years, but I have witnessed so much more than you could ever imagine. It is I, Joseph, and so many others that allow you to live in your bubble of drunken ignorance. " Anger flashed through his deep-set eyes. He seemed to be reliving dark moments in his mind. His lips pressed together as he looked away, his eyebrows meeting. Lines formed in his forehead, and Joseph whispered a few words under his breath.

Joseph then turned to the Russo family, looking like that he, too, was reliving horrible memories. "All of us have been through many hardships. Our own High Commander had suffered through becoming an Undead and then dying before finally being granted back her life by Tisanisenka. One of our warriors, Sakura, and her sister, Aya, who is a scout, lost their triplet, who was a spy among the Etamitlu Live. Her name was Yuki, and she died a slow, painful death, trying to call in reinforcements. This was almost three years ago. Yet, they still fight. It is not for vengeance, though they praise Yuki in memory as they fight for balance in the cosmos. Do not tell us that this is not real—that these _deaths_ are not real. There is danger that the Council of Magick could _never_ match." Joseph leaned forward. "What they would do is a slap on the wrist compared to what the Evils _will_ do to you if you stay here. We can help protect you, but you must _let_ us."

By the end of Joseph's talk, Toris had regained composure, and Justin, Jerry, Max, Theresa, and Alex were just quiet, allowing everything to sink in. Theresa looked like she may begin crying again. Max looked just completely dumbfounded. Jerry was speechless, and Justin was wide-eyed.

Swallowing again, Alex thought for a moment. Joseph had lost his beloved, Toris had daughters already getting ready for battle, and Alex was wanted on both sides. She would go with the Purities, but not in a heartbeat. She was afraid. She had seen those Evils. She remembered that dream with the battle. The ones in the woods were weaklings. This was going to get much worse, and there was no promise of it ever getting any better. Idolon would probably jump at the chance to join back with the Evils, but then again, Alex was not completely sure. Did she really start that battle to put a wedge between the Evils and help the Purities? Why did she think Ivan to believe she would betray him when she looked in his teacup? _Did _she betray him? Then why be punished by Set?

Alex was confused. She did not understand anything. She hated the feeling of being out of the loop. It was torture!

"Alright," Jerry finally stated, breaking the tense silence, "but how will they be admitted into WizTech during the school year? It is only open to those with Magician blood between May and August. During the rest of the year, it's only for mages."

Before one of the Russo children could ask a question, Toris quickly cut in to get the conversation back on track. "There are Purity scouts working in different governments, schools, and other important places. Our scout in WizTech should be able to convince Head Master Dupont to allow them in, but they _will_ have to be disguised as pureblood Wizards. However, Alex will not have to be disguised. No one will be able to tell if she has any Magician blood or not."

"And if they're not let in?" Jerry wanted to know what these two were planning.

He was still skeptical about the existence of the Evils, the Divines, and the Purities, but he now trusted Toris and Joseph. He knew that those two did not fake those reactions to remembering the horrors of the death of Joseph's wife and the worry for those two young girls. He could not imagine losing Theresa in such a terrible way. He could not imagine holding back the urge to lock Alex up before allowing her to risk her life. Some may think Toris to be a bad father, practically raising his children for such a life. Jerry saw it a different way: This Vampire was brave and willing to sacrifice way more than anyone should have to sacrifice—all for what was best for all.

This time, Toris smirked, though there was still pain in his eyes. "We have ways to get things done. Do not worry. Now, I suggest you all get some rest and pack. You and your wife have a place to stay, I presume?"

"M-my mothers," Theresa whispered, dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve. "She lives on a farm, her nearest neighbor over a mile away. We will be alright there."

Both Joseph and Toris nodded, and Joseph replied, "Yes, but we will have a few people follow you and stay nearby to make sure that you are safe. You all will leave in two days, and Svajonė will be back tomorrow. She is staying in the East Village tonight to keep the trail leading away from here, but she, too, will attend WizTech."

The two men stood up, but Justin finally stepped forward. "Wait." They stood still, though Toris retrieved his cloak. "What about my girlfriend, Juliette? She lives with her parents at the Late Nite Bite. It's a sandwich shop just down the road."

"Of course," responded Joseph without hesitation. "We will try to get her into WizTech as well, but it may be best if you are the one to tell her the situation. It's rare someone of a race other than Wizards get to go to WizTech, so it may be of a shock—I'm assuming that she isn't a Magician." He paused as Justin nodded. "Good, but to warn you, just getting _Alex_ in will be a bit of work. They normally only allow Wizards, as it was traditionally an all-Wizard school in the past. They tend to only allow in around ten people of other races—_just_ enough to meet requirements for ethnic diversity."

Justin nodded again, and Toris and Joseph began to leave. Jerry went to lead them out, and Max followed. Theresa seemed frozen in her seat, and Justin turned to Alex, who was rubbing the _nazar_ with her thumb. "Come with me to tell Juliette. I might need some help to convince her."

"_Mummy!" The gluttonous fire ate the room around the young girl with frightened eyes._

"_I thought you'd put up a better fight." _

That voice was more chilling than those large eyes Alex tried to forget. It was hard, seeing as they were _her_ eyes now.

Alex could not go see Juliette the way she looked now. She was her killer. So she shook her head and got up. "Sorry, but I'm really tired, and I have dirt in places it shouldn't be. I'm going to go up and take a shower."

She left the Lair before Justin could protest.


	18. Five of Cups

**Chapter 18: Five of Cups**

"_Emergencies have always been necessary to progress. It was darkness which produced the lamp. It was fog that produced the compass. It was hunger that drove us to exploration. And it took a depression to teach us the real value of a job." - Victor Hugo_

First stop was Alex's room to get some clothes. She had no pajamas that would be comfortable with her wings, so she grabbed two spaghetti-strap shirts to layer her body. The first layer was ebony and was sometimes seen as too long to be called a shirt, yet not long enough to be called a dress. The second layer was violet and would show off part of her stomach and some cleavage if she were to wear it alone. She also grabbed hobo gloves that would reach just past her elbows, which had a red-and-black checker pattern.

Thick, cotton pants that were dark in color were also draped over her arm, and she had thrown her WizTech robe onto the bed along with the _nazar_. She was not sure if the normal students wore the robe as well or if it was just for those with Magician blood, but either way, Alex was _not_ going to wear those dorky glasses that didn't do anything. She doubted that this was the uniform for the other students, anyway, and she did not want to walk into that castle looking like the biggest dork alive.

Heaving a sigh, Alex made her way into the bathroom and dumped the clothes next to the sink, and her tears finally broke through, burning her eyes before searing her skin. Legs weak, she held herself up by her arms on the edge of the cool acrylic counter, not yet looking into the mirror. Tears fell and gently slid down into the drain, and Alex's arms shook as she sobbed, trying to silence her cries so that no one else would hear her.

After some time, she looked up, seeing a stranger staring back at her. It wasn't Idolon, so that was a relief, but it wasn't Alex Russo either.

It couldn't be. How could they take her out of her comfort—her _home_—and expect her to be okay? How can they expect her to follow them without question when Alex did not even know who she was anymore? Alex didn't have too much time to think about this kind of thing. It all moved much too quickly. Now, she had time to think, and she wished that she didn't. It gave her doubt. It provided her a chance to think of a way out.

She _had_ to think of a way out. How could she be Seraphina? How could she be this person that everyone expected to be great? Alex was an underachiever for a reason. Was this why? Had she known what she was meant to do somewhere in her subconscious and went against it by being the opposite of what she was supposed to be? Alex didn't know. Her head hurt. The tears refused to stop, even when she could breathe normally again.

After giving up on wiping away the tears, Alex got out a brush and worked through her tangled mess of hair. She soon found a streak of ice blue that swept down like a strip of light in a waterfall of shadows. She almost looked exactly like that monster living in her head. Opening her mouth, she examined her sharpened first pre-molars. They reminded her of a carnivorous creature. She closed her mouth and continued to brush her hair.

Silence shrouded the house as Alex focused on her shoulder length hair, the cars outside and yelling on the streets providing the only sound. Alex had grown accustomed to tuning those out, but Alex needed noise at the moment. Silence was louder than anything the city could provide. Silence was a passage for fear and doubt, allowing people to mull over on these thoughts before the fear and doubt eat them up from the inside, leaving only a husk afterwards. Silence was one of the most deadly predators. It hunted after weaker prey like most predators, pushing them over the edge. A butterfly beating its wings was always silent.

That was when the storm hit.

Silence began to attack Alex, and she gasped, dropping the brush. Her head hurt terribly, and she tried to think of music as she stared into the mirror. Most of the songs got cut off at the first or second verse, and Alex began to shudder as others from silence's pack attacked her. Fear, doubt, anxiety, and alienation went in for the kill.

Many people could die by the hands of the Evils, including her. Worse, she could live and be blamed for all those horrendous deaths. There was no way she was strong enough—mentally or physically—to fight. They needed to find someone else.

Her heart was in a full gallop, and sweat beads lined her face, neck, and arms. It was hard to breathe, and butterflies with razor-tipped wings were in an angry frenzy within her body. No one knew how she felt. She was alone in this. They said that they were with her and that she would be protected, but how would they know?! There was no way of knowing. She was a killer who had the chance to do something right… but that didn't change the fact that she was—_had been_, she tried to emphasize—a killer.

Juliette was the only one she could remember, but how many others had met the same fate? How many souls had she taken to Set? Alex wanted to say that it hadn't been her—it had been Idolon. Truth was, though, that it was her. They were the same person. There was no going around that.

A scream escaped at the same time as Alex gasped, making a squeaking sound.

Forcing her mind to go blank, Alex tried to calm down. She did not want to worry anyone. They all had their own problems to deal with, because of Alex. Her throat began to constrict again, once again making it hard to breathe. She focused on the shouting outside, and anxiety was the first to retreat. Alienation backed up, but doubt and fear were more persistent. A few notes left Alex's mouth as she tried to calm herself down. The notes turned into words, and Alex opened the drawer as she sang the first song to come to mind.

In the drawer, she got out a hair tie. She used it to put her hair in a tight ponytail tied at her neck. As she sang, Alex then took out a pair of scissors and cut about a half inch below the hair tie. Her eyes were closed as she did this, and her other hand held onto her ponytail, which was thrown into the trashcan as soon as it had been cut away. The tie came off, and the strands fell, framing her round face and brushing her neck. The locks closest to her face barely swept her shoulders, curving up to become shorter until reaching the back of her neck. The ice blue streak stood out like a small light in the middle of darkness, and Alex noticed that her skin was another shade darker. She looked as if she had spent her entire life in the desert, making her pale eyes stand out all the more.

The song finished as Alex turned on the water and began to strip down, dirt falling to the floor as she did so. Even more dirt fell as she stepped into the spray of hot water and closed the curtain. To keep silence away, Alex began to sing another song, trying to keep her mind busy. She could not afford to let it drift off and invite back those blood-thirsty predators.

**xxx**

"Alex?" It was Justin, knocking on the bathroom door. "Juliette's here. She's going to sleep on that guest mattress that slides under your bed."

Even though the room was full of steam, Alex was frozen. The water had been shut off, and Alex swallowed, not wanting Juliette to see her. Juliette would be looking at her killer, and how was Alex supposed to explain the whole Idolon-living-in-her-head thing?

"Um… why isn't she at her own house? In her own coffin?" She knew she sounded tenser than she'd wish.

"I explained what was happening, and she said that she would feel safer here. Her parents said that it was alright, and Mr. Solovyov is taking them to a village of Dwarves, Elves, and a few Vampires somewhere in Scotland. He said that that commander he was talking about it is from there. She's in your room right now. Mom was helping her get the bed out earlier." Justin sounded somewhat flustered, but there was a certain edge to his voice that made Alex think he was holding back. He tended to be a nervous talker, and she knew he was holding his tongue as to not babble.

"Why can't she sleep on the couch?" Alex tried to sound selfish, like she just didn't want to share her room. That was partly true, but it was a very small part.

"Alex!" Justin sounded frustrated. "This is not the time to be so greedy about your space. Besides, Dragon is still freaking out under the table. Max is down there right now trying to calm him down."

Brow wrinkling, Alex asked her next question slowly. "You have _Max_ trying to calm down a _freaked out_, _fire_-_breathing_ dragon."

It sounded more like a statement than a question, and Justin did not speak. Instead, Alex heard him running towards the staircase in haste.

She sighed and dried herself, trying to think about how to avoid Juliette. Alex wiped some steam from the mirror, leaving a streak to see her reflection in. Her face was still alien, but Alex clung to the belief that she would soon grow used to it. Besides in mirrors, she never saw herself anyway. She hoped that the others were getting used to the new her, but she doubted it. Sixteen years was a speck compared to the vastness of time, but so was a life. Sixteen years was long compared to the short life of mortals. Alex squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think about that. She did not want to think about life. Thinking about life meant thinking about its mysterious counterpart. The stalker that patiently waited, the faintest of smiles forever staining those pale lips.

The tops had to be stepped into rather than pulled over Alex's head to avoid discomfort for her wings. Her wings felt even weirder wet, the water that hadn't run off of them gathering in tiny beads. She shook her wings, the water spraying over the walls and mirror. The towel was thrown into the hamper as Alex pulled up her underwear and pants, then her hobo gloves. Avoiding looking in the mirror again, she got a comb, going through her shortened hair slowly.

It was torture. Alex thought about different scenarios on how Juliette would react upon seeing her, but halfway through each scenario, the images would diminish. Truth was, Alex would have absolutely no idea how the Notte would react until she actually saw her. Still, Alex could not get certain images and pieces of images out of her head. She grabbed a long towel from under the sink, covering her head and most of her back.

Wings pressed against her back, Alex wrapped the towel around her arms and gingerly stepped into her room, keeping her head down somewhat. Juliette was busy making up the spare bed normally kept under Alex's own bed, and the drapes had been drawn, making sure no outside light spilled into the room. The only light came from the lamp on Alex's desk, giving the room a melodramatic look.

Alex was just ready to shout, "Cliché alert!" when Juliette turned around, offering a small, awkward smile that soon fell as she took Alex in. Swallowing, Alex lifted up her shoulders, trying to keep her face hidden by the shadows made by the towel. She also had her eyes almost closed, making it to where she was looking at everything through her long eyelashes.

"What's with the towel? Justin said that you're appearance has changed, but he told me that I'd need to ask _you_ about it. Unless you don't want to talk about it."

Juliette stood in front of her bed, but Alex's eyes stayed on the stuffed, white rabbit lying on the pillow, the glassy eyes staring at nothing. Next to the mattress covered in lavenders and pinks was a metal water bottle with a snap-shut lid. Alex had the feeling that it wasn't filled with water, and that thought made her taste the bile again. She had already seen too much blood that day.

"No, I don't." Alex just went to her desk, making sure to keep her back out of Juliette's line of vision. She made sure to sit to where she would not accidentally crush her primary feathers, and she kept her head down as she opened her backpack for the first time in a while. This seemed to be like an alarm clock in Juliette's head.

"Alex. What's wrong?" She stepped closer, and Alex turned her head, needing to avoid Juliette's gaze.

All she could see was that twelve-year-old girl tortured by a shadow before having her life tossed away as if it were nothing. She was alive now, with a boyfriend, loving parents, and good grades in home school, but that did not change the fact that she had been _killed_. That did not change the fact that _Alex_ had been her killer.

Reaching inside her backpack, Alex brought out her cellphone. She had a text from Harper:

**sry i wasnt  
school 2day. i  
had 2 leave  
early 4 winter  
break**

Every break (including the majority of summer break), Harper would have to leave the city and visit someone else in her family to get a break from her dysfunctional home. Alex was glad to see that Harper was okay and out of the city. Harper was already freaked out enough with all the _fake_-wizard stuff. She'd probably _die_ if she were to find out about what had just happened. Alex turned off her cellphone and put it on her desk, still avoiding Juliette's tawny-brown eyes.

She remembered them being red in her reflection. Was that relevant? Alex decided not to ask. She would be accused of avoiding the subject, and the questions would persist. So Alex just nodded and got out a smaller book, the front cover bent from being shoved into the backpack between her history book and American literature book. It was _1984_, the suspended blue iris and dilated pupil staring at her. The pupil was like an endless hole that sucked in everything except for those four, ruby numbers. Alex had not bothered opening the novel yet, and she shoved it farther away and into miscellaneous papers and sketchbooks, deciding that now was not the time to start reading some book.

"Are you sure?" questioned Juliette as she took a step forward. "You seem troubled. I can see by your arms that you're skin's darker." She paused, smoothing the blue and white skirt of her dress. "Alex, I really don't care how you've changed."

"Juliette," Alex murmured as she stared at the smooth, dark wood of her desk. "I'm so sorry. I… Things are different now than then." Her voice cracked, and worry flashed through Juliette's eyes. "Believe me about that. I'm not her… I don't want to be her." That final sentence was barely above a whisper, and Alex remembered the syringes full of that potion in her nightstand drawer. Joan had filled four of them with the potion along with the one she had injected Alex with earlier.

"Sorry for what?" Juliette just stood there.

The window opened, but neither girl noticed as Joan stepped into the room, Alex finally looking Juliette's way. The redhead was about to speak when Alex dropped the towel and stood up, locking onto Juliette's eyes.

Those tawny orbs flashed to crimson and widened greatly as her hands went to her open mouth, fear attacking every part of her body. She backpedaled away from Alex, nearly falling back onto the spare bed.

The Notte gasped for breath. "N-no. No. N-not you. _Please_, not you." Tears built up before spilling over her cheeks. "You're the shadow… the zolak-gai. HOW _COULD_ YOU?!" Juliette's body seemed to shimmer and become translucent.

"I guess I came at a bad time…." Joan looked back and forth between Juliette and Alex, holding onto her injured arm, which was in a sling. Most of the blood had been cleaned from her skin, but there were still patches of crimson over her shirt at the waist and splattered over her pant legs. She also had new cuts around the less-injured arm that were still bright red and looked inflamed.

"Juliette," Alex continued, "I… It wasn't… I didn't… That was another life."

"Yeah." Juliette grew bolder. "A life that took away _mine_! And for _what_?! So _you_ can look _beautiful_?! Is vanity so important you'd take the life of a _little_ _kid CRYING FOR HER MUM AND DAD?!" _Juliette's eyes now glowed as the color of blood, and she bared her lengthened fangs in wrath.

Alex stood up, the chair scooting back at the movement. Juliette was shouting at the top of her lungs, and her voice had shifted into an English accent after the third sentence.

"Juliette?" Jerry was at the door, the gentle knocking like thunder breaking through the air thick with tension, anger, fear, and regret. "Alex? Are the two of you alright?"

Juliette seemed to not have heard him as her fingers curled into fists, her body once again becoming opaque. "THIS IS FOR ALL OF THOSE LIVES YOU'VE TAKEN!" She leaped towards Alex at a speed unimaginable to the winged girl, knocking over the girl and ramming Alex into the opposite wall. Juliette held her at the collar bone with her palm, her fist thrown into Alex's jaw before she could bother to block the blow.

Tasting blood, Alex spat onto the floor at Juliette's feet and threw the Notte onto the ground. That was when Jerry opened the door, swearing under his breath. Alex stepped away from the wall, but Juliette was on her feet and came after Alex again. Joan ran towards them, but Jerry held the injured girl back by the shoulders, shouting at Alex and Juliette to stop. Alex blocked another punch and used a palm strike onto Juliette's nose as she kneed her in the chest. Juliette stumbled but scratched at Alex's face and lunged for her neck.

Dodging, Alex avoided the attack, but the bite ended up on her left shoulder, those sharp fangs creating two, identical gashes on Alex's shoulder as she tore away and threw an elbow strike to the side of her head. Juliette responded with jumping at Alex, using the wall for lift. Her hands wrapped around Alex's neck, and the two hit the foot of Alex's bed before falling onto the hardwood floor. Juliette gave a savage hiss of rage, pressing her thumbs against Alex's windpipe. Wings crushed against the floor, Alex hissed as well, but it ended in coughs as Juliette pressed harder, a feral gleam flashing through those glowing eyes.

"Back!" shouted Jerry with an outstretched hand as Justin made it to the doorway, staring in disbelief as Alex and Juliette were both thrown to opposite sides of the room by an unseen force. Joan stared at Juliette, and then hurried over to Alex, helping her up onto her feet. "_What_ is going on in here?!" Jerry demanded, breathing heavily.

"Juliette!" Justin went over to help Juliette, who just pushed him away. "What's wrong?"

Staring at Alex with those eyes full of vehemence, Juliette spat blood onto the floor and wiped her lip and broken nose. She grunted as she forced her nose back into alignment, but her eyes were on the floor, away from Alex.

Her voice was now in an American accent again as her bottom lip quivered. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me that _Alex_ was the one that killed me all those years ago?" Her voice was low as she spoke, more blood dripping from her nostrils.

"What?!" Justin and Jerry shouted this in unison, suddenly looking over at the girl getting up onto her feet as she coughed, a hand going to her throat as she looked back at Juliette, sorrow and regret in her eyes.

Justin was the one to speak. "Alex, is this true?"

"It can't be." The words slid under Jerry's breath as he stared at the stranger that had been masquerading as his daughter.

What other secrets were hiding behind those quicksilver eyes that spilled tears over skin so dark, she almost faded into the shadows?

_No,_ he told himself. This was Alex. She had been Alex for years. He'd raised her, fed her, taken her to art lessons and picked her up from detention. What Juliette was talking about, it _had_ to have been someone else. Jerry was convinced of this. Alex was a trouble-maker, but her heart really was pure. Pure and strong.

"Juliette," Alex tried, "I'm so—"

Her apology was cut short by sudden, violent shaking. Everyone fell to the floor, and Theresa cried out from downstairs. Max let out a shout, and Dragon started wailing again. Screams of terror filled the city as walls began to crumble; glass shattered; and Alex's chandelier over the bed fell from the ceiling, sheetrock raining down with it.

Jerry dragged them all down the stairs, barking orders for them all to get down to the sub shop. Juliette clung to Justin, all anger drained from her eyes, and Alex was carried by her father, Joan not far behind, trying hard to keep her balance.

They met up with Theresa and Max, who were under the table with the wailing dragon, Max's right hand wrapped in a bandage. The lighting fixture over the table fell and crashed over the wood, and the television fell from its stand, the screen cracking easily in a spider-web pattern. Pictures fell from hooks; plants fell from the ledge on the terrace; shelves tumbled over, crushing the books and porcelain figurines; and the plant outside the door fell over as the family and friends made it down the spiral staircase.

Down in the sub shop, glasses were shattered, items had fallen from the shelves, and chairs were on the floor, lying next to the fallen tables. Knives fell and skidded to the floor, nearly slicing the feet passing by. Water sloshed in the sink, and it almost seemed as if the world itself was breaking away from its orbit and tearing apart.

"Into the Lair!" Jerry quickly pointed at the metal door as he shouted this, the door outlining in a bright light.

They filed in, Dragon held by Max, who was held closely to Theresa. In the Lair, the world still shook with anger, as if reeking vengeance on all who had abused it. Everything fell from the walls and ceiling, narrowly missing the family that huddled together in terror. Jerry ordered them all into the center of the room and used his body as a barrier on the outside of their circle.

He reached up with one hand, fingers splayed as he shouted, "Shield!" Alex and Joan joined in, also reaching upward.

"Shield!" they both screamed in unison.

The others were inside the circle, huddling together. Only Justin dared look up, watching the chaos unfold before him. Living in New York City, he had never expected an earthquake—especially one of such strength. It sounded as if wrecking balls were rampaging through the streets, and he could have sworn he heard bricks and wood cracking from upstairs, shattering completely. The ceiling caved in, the wreckage crashing over the magical dome, which had jagged light shoot across it like streaks of lightning.

He watched as his dad, Alex, and Joan held up the dome around them, looking like it was made of octagons whenever something hit it. Three colors made up the dome: pale blue, hot magenta, and dark green. Justin's heart pounded as he imagined many of the buildings falling on top of families, crushing them. He imagined the arm of Lady Liberty falling and crashing down onto the island. He pictured the Brooklyn Bridge tearing apart. He pictured the cable cars crashing into the river. He imagined the screams all around him suddenly dropping into unnatural silence. He pictured the villages being reduced to nothing more than rubble, blood, bones, and tears.


	19. Justice

**Chapter 19: Justice**

"_The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven." - from Paradise Lost_

The earth shook with anger for close to ten minutes, but it felt like hours. Jerry looked as if he may collapse. Sweat ran down his face and neck, and the dark green light in the dome began to fizzle before finally going out when the shaking stopped. The rest of the dome fell away, and Alex and Joan fell forward, the others catching them as they breathed deeply, trying to get enough oxygen into their lungs.

Dust filled the area but slowly died, and Jerry was on his hands and knees, looking to be in worse shape than the two girls. Dragon no longer cried, but he sniffed the air, looking very frightened and agitated. The others stayed in their huddle, silent sobbing and whispered logorrhea spinning around the air and dust. It was mostly Theresa who whispered, praying to whoever may be listening up there, watching the disaster that had destroyed this family even further.

Cries of sorrow and confusion swept through Waverly Place and the rest of the city, but there were far fewer cries than before. Many walls had been toppled over, including two of the walls that had held up the bookshelves, and when Max looked over across the street, he saw a motionless arm sticking out from under a pile of bricks. A woman covered in scrapes dug through the pile, ripping some skin from her hands and bits of nail from her fingers.

A metal rod had gone through another woman's leg, and she wailed as someone tied a bandana inches above it to stop the bleeding. The city was now buried in tears and littered with the dead bodies of loved ones. Everything dawned on Max, and he finally broke down and began to sob into his mom's shirt.

"Careful," warned Justin. "There could be an aftershock."

He and Juliette were in the center of the circle along with Max, who was held closely by Theresa as she wept freely. Juliette was clutching Justin's shirt in her fists as she cried and shook, and Justin cradled her in his arms, trying to hold back his own tears. No one on the street paid them any mind, all of them facing their own problems with death, injury, and loss.

Some did not even cry. They just stared into space, their brains unable or unwilling to process what had just happened. Sirens screeched in the distance, but Justin had to wonder: Did the hospitals even survive? How many of them? How many of the injured would have rooms? How many people were left homeless? How many lost their lives?

The shaking began again, and Alex screamed, her voice joined by the screams of many others, still not over the shock and horror of what had just happened. Luckily, this shaking only lasted a few seconds, but Alex's heart was skipping beats, and she could no longer hold anything back. She shrieked and wailed, the earthquake having been the final nudge to shove her off of that cliff of sanity she had been clinging onto ever since that first dream in history class.

Theresa tried to silence herself and be strong for her family, but Alex, Max, and Juliette had given up on being strong. Joan looked around them, holding back her own despair and fright, and Justin fought just as hard as he clung onto Juliette. Jerry crawled over to Theresa and took her into his arms, kissing her over and over again as if each kiss could be their last. They finally embraced each other, Max and Dragon being crushed between them. Theresa wept on Jerry's shoulder as the man held her in his arms, tears falling from his own eyes. Max's bawling began to quiet as he was caught between them, and he finally let go of Dragon, who walked over to the shrieking teenage girl, her wings drooping. Joan stood, the breeze catching her hair as she surveyed the wreckage that was once Waverly Place.

Jerry reached over and brought Alex into the embrace, her body limp as she wept freely, her breathing reduced to short, violent jerks. She began to quiet down, but the tears refused to stop. Joan squatted down and rubbed Alex along her arm and shoulder, whispering in a language Alex did not know. Clinging to the arms of her parents and leaning against Max, Alex began to quiet down, and Theresa stroked her head, singing softly in Spanish. It was the lullaby she used to sing to Alex when she was a small child, clutching the flashlight to her chest and a giant stuffed panther lying next to her. The song would lull her to sleep, making her feel calm and safe.

Quiet now, Alex blinked to clear her eyes of leftover tears. Justin and Juliette came closer, but Juliette still eyed Alex with unmistakable ire. The disaster had changed nothing. Alex was a killer, and Juliette had been her victim. Alex was sure that the only thing holding the Notte back from wrapping her hands around Alex neck and ripping her head off was the boy of eighteen holding her in his arms. His eyes were closed as he consoled his girlfriend, whispering in her ear words that she seemed not to hear. The only thing going through her mind was that day in London all those years ago. The fire. The shadow. Those eyes. That flash of light. Death.

"What are we going to do, now?" Max was the one to finally say the words that confirmed what no one else would: Their house was ruined; this was real.

He wiggled out of the suffocating hug and let go of the squirming dragon that kept sniffing the air. Before anyone could make the move to answer Max's question, Dragon faced the road and made a sound that could be interpreted as a growl.

Coming from the shadows and dust was a tall figure in a dark green cloak that nearly blended into the night. The cloak was almost in shreds, revealing clothes nearly as torn, tan skin, and many lacerations and contusions, most healing. He held his left arm close to his chest, and it hung from a make-shift sling that looked to have been forged from torn cloth from the cloak. He also used a staff as a walking stick, leaning heavily on his right leg as he walked. Those amber eyes that had been so bright earlier looked as if those burning embers were close to becoming extinguished, and there was a heavy cut slashing across his left temple. His thin lips were in a straight line, and his crooked nose looked to be broken, blood marking the skin above his lips.

Walking up behind him was a short woman that did not even measure up to the man's shoulder. Cloth was wrapped around her right wrist, the end wet with blood. Alex saw that her hand was missing. Lacerations marred her slender face, and she had a long strip of cloth tied to her head to cover her left eye. With the only hand she held left, she carried her injured arm, limping. She seemed to be favoring her left side, and Alex vaguely saw a gash marking her right thigh.

"Acelin," Alex breathed in disbelief. "Sakura." She stood up, walking closer to the two.

Jerry got up instantly, placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders, a look on his face showing that he was not to be tested. His face, arms, and chest were drenched in sweat, but he forced his breath to become normal again as he glared at the strangers.

Alex ignored him, staring at Acelin, then Sakura. "What… Please tell me everyone else is alright."

Jerry's eyes softened at this, realizing that his daughter knew them, but he still did not back down. He just listened as Acelin spoke, his voice faltering.

"Alive," he responded, "_mais ils_ _ont_"—he cleared his throat—"hurt. They are all hurt and are being sent to the hospital in Celetsiakami. Sakura, Carsten, and I were on a cab on our way here. We were only a couple of blocks away when the earthquake hit, and Carsten…" Acelin took a breath and marked where his heart was with the index finger of his free hand, drawing what looked to be a five-pointed star inside a circle.

"He got caught in the rubble when a wall came down," Sakura finished, looking to be trying her hardest to not cry. "Other wreckage… I'll spare you on the details." Her voice cracked. "It was too late for Carsten, though." She, too, made that mark over her heart. "We were on our way, because something happened at the East Village prior to the earthquake."

"That's what I was going to tell you," stated Joan to Alex as she came over to them. "Five Undead came to where we were staying, and two were immortal. Garrett and Alejandro fought and ordered me to get here as quickly as I could. They were okay when I left, but Alejandro was tired, and they were outnumbered…" As Joan held her injured arm, she looked away from Alex and shivered. "I beheaded one Undead before leaving them, but…"

"Both are alive," assured Sakura. "Once they figured out that Alex was not there, they left, but not before drinking their blood. They are very weak and in intensive care, but they will live to fight again." She turned to the family, all of them on their feet now. Dragon had quit growling, though he still watched with unblinking eyes, going over to stand next to Justin. "We must leave now. The paperwork for the school is not yet done, but we can bring all of you to High Commander Landon's old home in Boston. She had moved out many years ago, but she still keeps it as a safe house for others. Come, there is a van this way. It will be hard to navigate out of the city, however, so help from the pixies has been requested."

"What about you?" asked Alex as she took in all of their injuries. They were in no condition to drive, let alone fight if the need was to come up.

"We will only escort you to the van," Acelin responded, seeing her worry. "Three people are waiting—a warrior, a protector, and a scout. All of you should be safe."

"My parents?" Juliette gingerly asked.

"Safe and sound last we heard," Sakura ensured. "Now follow us. Watch out for looters." She turned and began to walk down the street, muttering under her breath, "If anyone's actually able to." She limped down the street, only pausing once to make sure the others were following. "Don't bother trying to hide the lizard. With everything, he won't attract all that much attention."

Alex was ahead of the rest of her family, Joan right behind her. Jerry and Theresa held hands, and Theresa's other hand held Max close to her. Justin and Juliette took up the rear, Dragon trotting along next to them. Justin still held onto Juliette, but she gave him a peck on the cheek when she realized that he was shivering. Her heart still beat heavily, and Juliette placed a hand over it, needing to calm down. It jumped at all the screams and cries around her. She forced herself not to look at anyone.

She heard mothers, wives, fathers, husbands, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters. She heard of the death of a baby or young child. She heard about the death of a grandparent or parent. A brother or sister was not breathing. Paramedics were on their way, but for many, they were too late. Bricks, metal, and glass littered the entire ground along with the salt and melted (and near-melted) ice. Cars were on their side or completely overturned, many crushed by debris. The cold wind raged through mercilessly, having no regard for the horrors everyone had just beheld from the wind's strong and (usually) stable sibling.

The group moved slowly due to the extent of their leaders' injuries, but just as promised, few people looked their way—they all had their own problems. It was two blocks away where a large, white van sat upright, a man sitting in the driver's seat. Alex could only make him out faintly, though, as the windows were tinted. Two others stood outside the van, one of them being Jasmine. Only, she was disguised as a Human, her wings gone and feathers on the side of her head now ears. She wore more modest clothing, though her upper back was still left bare. She also no longer wore the mask, but a light green scarf hid her mouth and nose. The tails of the scarf fell down to her thighs, and her bright eyes flicked onto the dazed and frightened crowd as the man next to her opened up the sliding door. His light brown hair was in a low ponytail, tied with a burgundy ribbon. The tips nearly brushed his mid-back.

"Everyone get in," he commanded his voice holding a Spanish accent. "Keep the lizard in the front. We have a muzzle to make sure he doesn't breathe fire on us while we're driving. My name is Elias. Next to me is Jasmine, and Jakob is driving. Hurry now."

Acelin and Sakura stood a few feet away, and Jasmine nodded to them. They nodded back, and Acelin took a device out of his pocket. He spoke into it in French, and Alex stared as they disappeared. There was no light, flash, or smoke like she was used to. They were just there one second then gone the next. Elias called everyone into the van again, and Alex looked back at him, wondering what was going to happen.

As everyone filed into the van, Theresa asked him something in Spanish, and Elias responded in a reassuring voice, his soft eyes hazel-green. She did not look entirely convinced but got into the middle row with Jerry anyway. Max, Justin, and Juliette were in the back, and Alex and Joan sat near the front with Dragon, who was restrained by the blonde driver. He did not offer any smile or greeting, and his blue-green eyes were distant.

He had a hard face that had the look of someone that had seen things Alex could only imagine. He needed a shave, but Alex guessed that there were other things on his mind. As the doors closed, he looked ahead, still not saying anything. Jasmine slid into the passenger side, talking to him in a language Alex did not know. Elias slid into the seat next to Joan and slammed the door shut. His eyes darted about nervously as he buckled himself in, everyone following suit. Jakob nodded at Jasmine's words, Elias turned to face the others.

"Jasmine and I can both speak Etan, but Jakob only knows Wanlin, Tronnise, and Dwan," he informed.

"Huh?" Alex and Max asked this at the same time, raising their eyebrows. Alex shifted in her seat as the van lurched into motion, her wings feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"He and Jasmine speak English, but the other guy only speaks Norwegian, Portuguese, and Gaelic," Jerry answered, bringing Theresa's head onto his shoulder. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"

"We're going to fly." Jasmine turned to answer, the words coming out of her hidden mouth before Elias could answer. "There are pixies in the area, who will help this thing fly and make us invisible. Only, they will only be able to do it for a short amount of time, so we will be going very fast. Now get ready, and I hope none of you have a fear of heights or high speeds."

No one answered, and Jasmine nodded before turning back around. In less than a minute, they were in the air, and most of them were grabbing the seats or each other. Elias's eyes flashed to red-orange, but he stared straight ahead, jaw set. Jakob said something again, but Alex had already given up on trying to figure out what he was saying.

Instead, she looked at his ears, noticing that they were just a little longer than a Magician's ear, but it curved back into two points before swooping down into his lobe. When he finished speaking, the van suddenly lurched upwards, tearing screams from Justin, Juliette, Max, and Theresa. They flew high, and Jakob gritted his teeth as they sped up, and he shouted something else. They jerked forward again, moving so fast, Alex's stomach churned like when she rode the biggest roller coaster at Coney Island—she had waited years to finally be tall enough to ride it.

The car leveled out high above the city, but no one dared look out the window to view the nightmare below them. Alex's stomach growled, and she felt like blushing when it happened. This was _so_ not the time for her to remember the fact that she was starving, thirsty, and exhausted. Jasmine looked back at Alex, who noticed that Jasmine's wings and hair-feathers were back, and she seemed just as uncomfortable in her seat. She reached into the glove box in front of her, taking out a small bottle of pills. She tossed it to Alex, who caught it awkwardly. The bottle was like one a doctor may give—translucent orange with a white cap, but there weren't any labels. There was just some writing in black, permanent marker: **Nutrition pills - Nymphs**.

"Just take two," Jasmine instructed. "Those pills have been specifically made for someone with a Nymph's metabolism. We have food for everyone else, and another bottle of pills for Svajonė."

"I'm a little too nervous for anything," Joan whispered.

Nodding, Jasmine turned to the others. "Just let me know if any of you get hungry. We should be landing soon, and it should be another three to four hours before we get to Boston. So I suggest you all rest."

"What are in these pills?" Alex opened the cap, moving around the large pills with her finger. They resembled vitamins and were pale grey, almost white.

"All the essential vitamins," replied Elias before Jasmine could open her mouth, "minerals, calcium, protein, _et cetera_. It's packed with chemicals to give you all the needed nutrients and calories."

"Chemicals?" That word worried Alex. When she thought of chemicals, she thought of the liquids in test tubes that Alex once played with in the chemistry lab, causing Daniel Morton to have to go into the chemical shower—that probably explained her low grade.

"It's organic, don't worry," Jasmine assured. "Just take two pills. You'll be fine. We also have some water up here if anyone gets thirsty."

_It's a chemical that's organic?_ Alex did not question it though and dry-swallowed two of the pills, a bitter taste settling over her tongue.

She made a face but otherwise ignored it, recapping the bottle before throwing it back at Jasmine. It landed in her lap, and she placed it back into the glove box. Soon, the van began its decent, and the churning feeling returned to Alex. She closed her eyes and leaned back as far as she could, bending her neck over the top of the seat. She kept her breathing deep and slow, glad that there was almost nothing in her stomach to come back up. She swallowed just to make sure, and she noticed that the van began to slow. When they hit the road, there was a jolt that shot through Alex's body, and she heard someone behind her make a sound. It was one like he was about to throw up but swallowed it back down. Alex guessed it to be Justin. He had always had motion sickness.

No one really seemed to speak as Jakob drove, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Not even Jasmine or Elias spoke, not bothering with assurances that they would be alright or that they were safe now. Those things could not be promised. That is why they did not say them. Hope was great, but it could weaken a person's shields. Optimism could be a virtue, but it could also easily become a weakness.

Paranoia was on the other side of the spectrum and make a person careful at first but then turn to attack on a dime. Paranoia tore away at the person until only a husk was left. It did not even have to be the enemy that killed. Paranoia, in its own right, was one of the ultimate predators. Alex tried to stay away from paranoia, but she would not allow herself to say that things would turn out alright. Alex would try to grasp onto a belief that her loved ones would live—that is the only hope she forced herself to keep.

But then she would just think: What if they were watching them now? What if Jakob, Elias, or Jasmine was an Evil in disguise? What if this was a trap? What if everything was just a tumbling stone of some larger plot that would lead to Alex's demise and the demise of everyone and everything she had ever loved?

Then she'd shake her head. She had to trust _someone_. She would trust them. They were helping her and her family. Trusting everyone was foolish and irrational, but trusting no one was even worse. She had to remember that.

People have fallen into terrible places due to paranoia. Alex could not allow herself to go to those places. She grew fearful of her own mind. It could not always be trusted. People had delusions, hallucinations, and even other personalities—Alex knew the last one well.

Dreams and fantasy seemed real and mixed with reality so well; there were people that could not distinguish the two. Time was distorted. It controlled _everything_ and has the power to plunge a brilliant person into the darkest depths of insanity.

"Try not to be so worried." Elias's irises were now gold-flecked moonlit-grey. He closed those ever-changing eyes and took a breath. "It blinds you. I will not tell you that we are safe. That would be a lie." The others tensed at this. "But High Commander Landon often says, 'Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.' It is something her father had often said to her and her sister. It is a very good rule. It is all we can do at times like this. Now rest. Everyone else let me or Jasmine know when you are hungry. We have apples, oranges, carrots, and jerky. Not much, but it will hold you until we reach the house."

Taking a few more breaths, Alex leaned her head against the window and forced her eyes to close. A few hours with her thoughts was not something she wanted. So she called to sleep, but unlike the previous night, she finally dreamed. It was not a memory from Idolon, thankfully, but it was still more… lucid than a regular dream.

She was in a boat that somewhat resembled a gondola floating down a path of water that could not be called a river or stream. There were walls on either side of her, making the path narrow, and the stone walls met at the ceiling in a grand arch, and there were lit candles along the path, casting Alex in dim, scarlet light. It reflected off the dark water eerily, and the boat seemed to be moving by itself down the path. Alex had one word in mind: catacomb. That thought led to another one: dead people.

Thankfully, though, there were no skeletons or corpses. Instead, there was gentle (yet creepy) organ music coming from ahead. It sent chills down Alex's spine, but she also felt soothed somehow. She closed her eyes and adjusted herself in the boat, realizing that she was now wearing something different. Opening her eyes, she took in the off-white dress she wore, the skirt long and flowing, covering her feet. She ruffled her wings, finding that her back had been left bare, fabric closing over the small of her back. Cloth loosely fitted over her upper arms just below her shoulders, and the dress came down fairly low, making Alex wonder how it stayed on.

She stood up to look around the scene that reminded her of some boring movie Harper made her watch last year. She noticed that the skirt of the dress fanned out, and it would create a saucer around her hips if she were to twirl in around fast enough. Alex did not try it out though. Instead, she sat back down, not wanting to rock the boat anymore.

Soon, the boat stopped at a landing made of stone like the walls. There was a man playing at an organ next to a large bed covered in white. There was translucent white cloth circling the bed almost like mosquito netting but more beautiful and metallic sparkles that glittered in the candlelight. All around the bed and organ were tall candlesticks, the candles melted into short nubs. Alex carefully got off of the boat and onto the stone landing, finding that white ballet flats donned her feet. Holding up her skirt, Alex walked towards the man playing as chords suddenly shot through the air, making Alex stop, more chills traveling along her spine.

"_In sleep he sang to me  
In dreams he came  
That voice which calls to me  
And speaks my name  
And do I dream again?  
For now I find  
The phantom of the opera is there,  
Inside my mind…" _

Alex had no idea where the words came from. They just exited her mouth in a pitch she never knew she could reach before her brain could even catch up to her.

"_Sing once again with me  
Our strange duet  
My power over you  
Grows stronger yet  
And though you turn from me  
to glance behind  
The phantom of the opera is there  
Inside your mind…"_

He sang in a lovely tone that both chilled and entranced Alex, but instead of following him with more of the song, she just stayed where she was, bottom lip trembling slightly.

"Who are you?"

He stopped playing and turned around in the bench. He gave a wide smile, his amber eyes glittering shallowly with mirth. His blonde hair was in a slightly different style, the bangs sweeping to cover his right temple, and he looked maybe a few years older. "I am so happy that I have finally found you."

He stood up, but Alex took a step back.

With a shallow exhale, she said his name: "Atol."

**_I do not own "Phantom of the Opera" from Phantom of the Opera._**


	20. The Moon

**Chapter 20: The Moon**

"_It was also my violent heart that broke, / falling down the front hall stairs. / It was also a message I never spoke, / calling, riser after riser, who cares…" - from "The Break"_

The man came towards her arms outstretched, but Alex stepped back, one hand clutched into a fist by her collarbone. She kept in mind that just a few feet behind her was a body of water that could be contaminated with corpses and skeletons, but her eyes never left those autumn-gold eyes shadowed by the long bangs of hair that seemed to have been spun from raw gold and newly-made honey.

He became still. His feet had stopped moving when he realized that Alex had taken a step back, fear in those eyes that were just so easy to read. His smile and arms fell, and there was a questioning sparkle to his otherwise-empty eyes. He made a move to come closer, but he stopped again when he saw Alex tense up.

She breathed shallowly through her mouth, her lips parted only slightly. The two stood that way for a while, and an image from Alex's memory popped up in front of her mind's eye: An unnatural shadow twisted, making Idolon stop in her tracks as she cocked a hip in annoyance. The shadow shifted into a man—Atol, his lips curved into a cocky grin.

The two had shared a kiss, and there was no doubt about Atol being a major part of the revolution in Tartarus. Had he been punished as well? How? Alex noticed that his eyes were empty except for the occasional flicker of shallow emotion. The fire was gone. There was no more passion. That shine that just lit up his entire face was gone. His blonde hair was longer, curling around the ears and brushing along the nape of his neck. His bangs had been grown out, looking like he had attempted to cover those dead eyes, though they were now brushed to the right. His lips were thin and red, making Alex think of a wolf.

He looked almost disappointed, but Alex could not be sure. Her heart switched between a thundering gallop to a light flutter within seconds, and her stomach just churned, tearing so the butterflies could escape and invade the rest of her tense body. Her eyelids fluttered nearly as quickly as her heart. She hoped that this entire scene would just disappear.

"You… don't remember me, do you?" His voice was low, and there was a touch of hurt. However, like his other emotions, the hurt was something shallow—there was no true essence of it.

Alex could make no sense of it, but she almost understood. There have been times where Alex had felt as if a part of her mind had been filled with water, submerging her emotions. This made it so much harder for her to reach for them. Eventually, it became easier to just skim over them, but she always had the choice to dig deeper and fish out the emotions and _truly _feel them. Still, there was always something about it that seemed… fake. She only knew how it _should_ feel and therefore tricked herself into thinking that was what she _was_ feeling.

It was different for Atol. It almost seemed as if the water had frozen over, forcing him out completely. He could only skate over emotions and could not even find the relief of simply tricking himself. He was torn, and he had accepted that. Even worse was that the acceptance allowed no loss or sense of sorrow. He was broken and emptied of all of his essence. Alex could only barely see the remnants through his eyes. Had this been his punishment?

Alex already knew exactly what it was he lacked, and she knew that she, too, lacked the exact same thing. It was something so precious, Alex did not want to think about the fact that she did not have one—has lived nearly her _entire life_ without one.

Now, Atol had been stripped of his, and Alex was able to run her fingers over the water, allowing empathy to begin to surface. It was something she did not feel often, and Alex nearly drowned trying to grab onto it. There were instances where the water became clearer, but that moment was one of those times where the water had become cloudy.

"Not really," Alex finally answered after her brain finally processed Atol's question.

Her mind has been nothing but cluttered lately, making it hard for her to concentrate. She was always jumping around, having to separate fact from fiction and past from present. Too many ifs spun through her head. She had to keep herself where she was and not let herself wander.

Swallowing, she kept her eyes on Atol and stopped her rapid blinking. "I only remember that day, when… I got back from speaking to Set. When we started talking about the rebellion." She paused, remembering to say that it was her that was there and not Idolon. They were both the same person, and Alex would have to get used to that fact. "I also remember the fight." She stopped, not wanting to move on. She shoved away those images, sounds, and smells, wanting nothing to do with them.

Watching her carefully, it seemed as if Atol were looking for any sign of Alex lying to him. After some time, he whispered, "You don't remember…" He broke the gaze and took in a deep breath, walking over towards the bed. He sat on the edge of it, and Alex followed, stopping a few feet away.

Atol did not look at her as he continued. "I was with the Unspeakables several years longer than you. I was the most powerful until you came along, the daughter of Nirabella and Terrask of Mzrisknu. I was the illegitimate son of Micrain, Einharun of Lotusimas, and a mortal woman who died from a fever not long after giving birth to me. I was taken in by a zolak-gai before Micrain could come get me." He looked up again, though he avoided Alex's eyes. "Then you came and were just so powerful. We were evenly matched. Equals that always challenged each other, trying to get the upper hand. You do not remember all we had done together?" This time, he did meet her eyes. "You do not remember when we bound our spirits together?"

"We… what?" Alex had managed to keep up, but he lost her with the last question.

They had _bound_ their _spirits_? How? Was that even possible? Alex wanted to wake up now, but she felt like she no longer had any control on what went on in her dreams.

Atol motioned towards a spot to his right, but Alex stayed where she was. She did not care if he had been Idolon's—her—lover. He was a stranger to her in this life, and Alex did not know if she could trust him. When Atol saw that she would not move, he just nodded and sighed.

"To ensure that we would always be together and to show that we only belonged to each other, we mixed our auras to where you are a part of me and I am a part of you. We decided on this not long after I was granted back my soul to receive immortality. You… never had one, and I did not want to risk losing you. So we did the ceremony. That way, even if you were killed, you would be brought back, because part of you also lives in me." He placed his hand over where his heart was. "But both people need a soul for the bonding to work at its best. That is why it had taken me so long to find you."

"_Part of you also lives in me."_

This concept went right over Alex's ability to comprehend. She had never been one for mushy love stories, but she was sure that this would be far from the usual stuff that had Harper and Theresa reaching for the tissues.

It sounded almost like a marriage, but much stronger, if that was possible. They _only_ belonged to each other, and it sounded like there was no counter-spell version of a divorce.

He had basically branded her, simply because he couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Alex was not sure what to make of this, and she tried to remember some of those "red flags" her health teacher had mentioned last year.

Atol had said that he had been searching for her. He'd been searching for her these past sixteen years? Alex was not sure whether this was love or obsession. He was almost like one of those creepers that practically stalked the girl they had fallen head over heels for. It made Alex shiver, and she hugged herself around the waist.

The man stood up, seeing her discomfort. She took a step back, not wanting to be near him. He had invaded her mind and had created this dream so they could meet. Why? The timing seemed suspicious to Alex. _Now_ he found her? After the earthquake, the few memories she had received, and the attack? He was probably just luring her in. Alex would not fall for it. She may never have been the smartest person around, but she wasn't _that_ stupid.

"Talk to me," Atol softly pleaded. "I had not seen you for years. I wish I could tell you that my heart ached when we were apart. I wish I could tell you that I still loved you. But… I can say neither. I _did_ love you, but that was back when I had my soul. You did not love me back, but you wanted to. I could tell by seeing those rare bursts of passion in your moon-like eyes."

He took Alex's hand, but she snatched it back quickly and turned away from him a few degrees. Atol's voice had cracked only slightly, but Alex noticed it with her sensitive ears. A few moments passed before he spoke again.

"Set never got the chance to take hold of your soul. You still had a connection to it, but it wasn't enough. It was your idea to start the rebellion—to get everyone their souls back. You were going to kill Set, and you had come close. I followed you, realizing how wrong he and the Evils were."

Quiet, Alex thought about this. When she spoke to her, Idolon had sounded heartless. She had sounded like there was only _one_ thing she wanted: control.

Idolon had fed on fear, a powerful emotion that would take the reins of a person's mind as soon as it got the chance. She had sounded like the kind of person that did as she pleased and did all she could to make sure that she received what it was that she craved. She had been strong but had a quick temper. She would lash out without the cost of guilt to shadow her afterwards. She had been cunning and knew _exactly_ what to say and do to get what it was she sought after.

Thinking back, Alex recalled how Idolon had spoken to that orb, making sure that Set agreed with what she said to him. Part of that resided within Alex now. She was always scheming, trying to figure out how to get around the rules to satisfy her own selfish hunger. She would talk her way out of things and keep watch over her stories so that she would not get ensnared in them—so she would not end up suffocating within her own lies. She and Idolon were much more alike than Alex wanted to admit.

"Say my name," Alex whispered.

It was a simple request. Alex needed to hear it from him. Idolon had said that she was called 'Idolon' because it meant 'ghost'. It was because of her natural ability to get out of even the toughest of predicaments. Yet, Alex also thought that it was because of what her real name meant. Alex was not sure how she knew this, but the name Seraphina came from 'Seraphim', who were powerful Immortals. It was a powerful and holy name. Alex wanted to see if Atol dared to speak it—to call her by this name.

"Seraphina Nirabellascholla Sataruskasenka." He did not hesitate, his tongue cradling the words carefully and beautifully. "You could not bear to be called that when you did not even have a soul. So Yin suggested calling you 'Idolon'."

Alex did not bother asking who Yin was. "I go by Alex now."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Alex could see Atol smile, but it was a ghost of a smile that barely touched his lips. "Alexandrite was the stone in the ring I had given you. It is used to stimulate pleasure and love." He paused and looked up at the ceiling. "It's also said to be good luck."

"Some luck," Alex mumbled, hugging herself more tightly. She still felt uncomfortable around him, and she decided to change the subject. "Why'd you choose this place? Catacombs aren't exactly romantic in my book. That _is_ the vibe you were going for, right?"

"Yes, but you may change it if you wish." Atol looked back at her, but Alex was still turned away from him. "It _is_ your mind, after all. I found this place in your memories—a movie I believe. Of course, all of your thoughts are partly blocked as well as blurred, so it does not look exactly the same."

"You were looking at my memories?!" Alex finally turned back around to face him, outraged.

This had swung back to creepy. She did not want to be "bound" with some kind of mind-rapist! Her thoughts were private, and he had _no right_ to intrude on her privacy.

"You are able to do the same with me," Atol calmly informed. "It is a part of our spirits being bound together, but we are still able to keep the other out, and our connection is weak due to… you know." He did not want to say it either.

Breathing deeply, Alex looked into Atol's eyes and flowed into his mind, finding that many of his thoughts were about her. It was hard to distinguish everything—like listening to someone underwater. The images from memories were fuzzy, but Alex found an image of Idolon and Atol kissing. She left instantly, feeling uncomfortable.

After about a minute, Alex murmured, "Okay, let's get out of this sewer-slash-tomb then." She closed her eyes, and pictured the first thing that came to her mind. Upon opening her eyes, she smiled. She and Atol were in her room, everything as it was before everything came crashing down.

"Amazing." Atol spun around slowly to survey the room. "Some say when one decorates a room, it is sometimes the closest we are able to viewing that person's soul."

The zolak-gai stopped to analyze the nearly-finished painting of Gatobella on the easel. His eyes also moved over the half-finished painting of twelve-year-old Juliette, a painting of blotches of color from Alex's paint palette when "Jenny" had been teaching, and the other paintings and portfolio (made from two poster boards stapled on three edges) full of drawings and other projects.

"You still paint," he whispered, his lips pulled into a smile.

"Yeah." Alex looked over at her painting of Gatobella.

All she had left to do was touch up the simple hanging mirror she had placed in the background. She had painstakingly worked on the glass, trying to make it look realistic. Alex normally preferred modern art, but when she dealt with still life or a portrait of any kind, she preferred to work in "hyperrealism" as Mrs. Carson had put it after seeing Alex's painting of the bowl of fruit and bottles of oil at the beginning of the year.

"I wanted to be an artist." Her voice was soft, distant.

"'Wanted'?" Atol turned to look at her. He tried to take her hand again, but, once again, Alex yanked it away. He was already viewing her soul, so to speak. As far as Alex was concerned, he didn't need to touch her too.

"Yeah," Alex replied, turning away to avoid his disappointed look, "before I realized that my future had already been written for me."

"You're the only one that can write your future." He wore and earnest expression, but those empty eyes unnerved Alex. It was hard to believe that he once had the ability to love.

Sitting on her bed, Alex found that she was still wearing the dress. She had tried to change it to something cuter, but she was still donned in the white fabric that felt almost like satin.

"How am I supposed to do that when my chain keeps getting yanked in the direction people want me to go? I didn't used to like to believe in destiny or fate. It sounded more like I don't have any free will." Alex had always scoffed when people spoke of such things with a happy sparkle in their eyes, as if such things would carry them through life even if things ended up overturned. To Alex, however, such things made her feel like they were all powerless and could do nothing for themselves—to actually be _glad_ about such a thing had always annoyed her to no end. It was like surrendering without even trying.

Watching her for a moment, Atol was silent. He then turned to the painting of the small girl, fixating on those large, brown eyes. "Fate will lay down many paths." He paused. "We have the will to choose any path it is we wish, but almost all will eventually lead to the same place. Destiny merely observes, knowing where everything ends. He does not direct. He simply knows."

"He?" Alex had heard some people in English compare abstract things to living things to make it come to life when they're writing poetry, but the way Atol spoke of destiny was different. It was as if he were sure that destiny was a real person and not just a figment.

"Sonannak, Divine of Destiny. There is also Edrei, Divine of Fate." His voice was a monotone, and he went over towards Alex's desk, inspecting the mess it held. With unblinking eyes, his hand went over the objects, barely touching them. The pencils and pens rolled a fraction of an inch at the disturbance, some of the fake jewels on necklaces and bracelets glittered slightly beneath his gaze, but what stood out was the book with the bent cover. It was something that did not belong in the sea of miscellany, but he did not touch it.

"The Divines…" Alex rolled the word over her tongue. She began to remember names, like Tarah, Divine of Balance; Kedric-sai, Divine of Time; and Notanko, Divine of Darkness. She had no idea how she was remembering this, but it sent a wave of comfort through her. Yet, something bothered her. "I'm starting to remember. How?" The answer came to her before Atol even spoke.

"This is your mind. You have access to all of your memories here. What is this book?" He did not pick it up to show her, but Alex knew what book he was talking about—it was the only one in her room save for some comics and a Spanish-English dictionary her mom had given her years ago.

"It's for Book Club," Alex replied, looking at some of her earlier paintings that held the modernism she loved to experiment with. Her realism paintings still lacked something that kept the paintings from truly coming to life, but Alex tried not to think about it. "I needed to join a club to help my academic record."

Atol moved away from the desk and looked at Alex, trying to smile. "I've never been much for Magician literature. I normally read that of the Elves or Wizards. Vampire literature is also interesting." Alex was about to respond when Atol suddenly cut her off. "Will you sing for me?"

This caught Alex off-guard. Sing? Along with painting, Idolon also sang?

_Of course,_ Alex told herself. _She's me. Of course she sang._ "Um… I'm not…"

She met Atol's face. There was almost a pleading shine to his eyes. He had been through so much more than Alex realized. Maybe he really _had_ loved Idolon—her. Only, the two were different. Could he still love her?

_No,_ Alex thought, _don't think about that. You barely know him. There's nothing to feel._ "Okay." She opened her mouth to sing, but words came from elsewhere, the music filling the entire room. The voice seemed to be coming from next to the easel.

Idolon appeared, and Alex stood up. Idolon sang as she sauntered over to Atol, placing her arms around his neck. The song held to words; at least, no words Alex new. They sounded more like just notes that rose and fell with beauty that nearly entranced Alex and seemed to entrance Atol for a moment before the bewilderment returned, his eyes going from the woman to the girl and back.

She took his hand in hers, while he stood there, unblinking, watching as her forehead touched his. Their breath mingled, but while Idolon looked calm, her lips in a sultry smile as she sang, Atol merely looked confused and… uncomfortable?

Alex could only watch as Idolon's voice rose, a shiver shooting down the girl's spine. The song may be beautiful, but the voice controlling it still had that arctic edge that conveyed a darkness Alex could scarcely imagine.

Idolon let go of Atol, spinning around slowly so that her hair flew up, revealing the dress she wore, identical to Alex's except for that it was colored like polished rubies. The skirt flew up around her slender legs as she spun, her eyes opened only a fraction when she stopped, gazing into the eyes of the man who had once been her lover. He came closer to her, no longer uncomfortable but still puzzled. He took her hand, and she let him, her song coming to a soft end.

Alex was on her feet now, her breathing almost as quick as her heart. She could only stare as Atol would look from Idolon to her and back again. He took a step back, trying to assess the situation. Silence stretched on through the room, and it looked as if Idolon were the only one actually comfortable in the setting, something dangerous glittering in her eyes. Her smile was now more of a smirk, and she was the first to speak, her icy words directed at Alex even though her eyes stayed on Atol.

"When he said that this was your mind, he meant _everything_ in your mind." Now she spoke to Atol. "I guess I should thank you for waking me up, yes?"

"How?" was the only thing he managed to choke out.

"Apparently you need to study psychology a little more," Idolon snorted. She then continued with a sarcastic comment. "So sweet you still care even after I caused you to lose your soul. You always _have_ been a weakling, haven't you?"

This time, shock spread over Atol's face. "You said—"

"I said a lot of things," Idolon interrupted, her lips now in a steady frown. Alex could only stand back and watch as Idolon continued to tear Atol apart with her razor-sharp words and freezing voice. "I only went along with your idiotic claims because I, no matter how much I loathed admitting it, needed your help to overthrow Set. I had to weave many lies to get all of those reinforcements." Her smirk was back. "And you all fell for it. They _still_ believe what I had told them." She looked over at Alex. "Isn't that right? They told you I started that revolt to put more strain within the Evils and tear them apart, yes?"

Alex nodded dumbly as Atol shouted, "That is what we were supposed to do! So we could repent for our wrongs and once again—"

"Be _servants_?" Idolon spat. "That is our name, isn't it? Sataruskasenka means to be servants to the Holy. I did not want to _serve_. I wanted to _lead_. By killing Set, _I_ would have been the leader of the Unspeakables, then _all _four Evils. _I'm_ the most powerful. _I_ have the power to kill _immortals_! You could have been at my side as I sat on that throne, but you wanted to _repent_." She spat out the word as if it were acid. "I told you and everyone else what they wanted to hear. But that _stupid_ Vampire from Mzrisknu, Ivan, found out my plan and used a magic-suppressing spell on me right before I killed Set. I couldn't use my Blackfire to kill him, and before I could do anything else, I ended up getting punished. The only justice was that the spell also killed Ivan in turn."

"Who are _you_ to talk about _justice_?!" Alex suddenly shrieked before she was able to think about her words. She immediately regretted opening her mouth when Idolon's steely gaze turned on her.

The cold edge was worse than dry ice now. Alex did not know how to describe it, but it felt as if her core were freezing just from the woman speaking to her.

"Who are _you _to speak of it? _We_ are the same person, Alex. Admit it or not, you want that power just as much as I. I've watched you pull those pranks and manipulate people around to get what you wanted. My plan was simply on a much larger scale. You long for it. I can tell." She gave one, last condescending look at Atol, her lips twisted in a scowl. "Let me know when you actually grow a pair."

She faded away like a shadow caught in light, but Alex knew that she was still around. The potion had basically worn off, leaving Idolon free to invade Alex's mind whenever she pleased. Alex's bottom lip quivered, and she looked over to Atol, seeing something wash over his face and stain his eyes. This emotion was not shallow like all the rest. His hand went to his chest, and Alex knew that this emotion could cause physical strain as well as emotional.

It was betrayal.

"I…" Alex was not sure how to move on.

How could she? She just realized that her other personality was pure evil, and she had used the man that loved her so dearly, using his emotions so that he would follow her without question. She was no longer suspicious of this man. Instead, all of that shifted to make her hatred of Idolon grow.

Atol turned away, spotting something on Alex's bed. He walked over to it and picked it up. The object burned his skin, but he seemed not to register the pain as he took hold of Alex's wrist, not bothering to meet her eyes. Without a word, he dropped the _nazar_ into her open hand and disappeared, the look on his face burning itself into Alex's mind.


	21. Eight of Swords

**Chapter 21: Eight of Swords**

"_Stretch out your hand! Let no human soul wait for a benediction." - Marie Corelli_

Eyes fluttering open, Alex woke up in the van, neck stiff. She rolled it around, feeling the strain of muscles as she did so. Some others were still asleep, and Jerry and Max were both eating a bit of jerky. Joan sat quietly, slumped over slightly, probably from exhaustion. Alex guessed that she felt that she needed to stay awake but did not have the energy to pretend that she was perfectly fine like she normally did.

Jasmine blinked slowly, looking as if she may nod off soon. Only Elias and Jakob seemed wide awake, Elias's eyes focused and the color of amethysts. Alex rubbed her eyes, finding something in her left hand, which had been balled up in a fist when she woke up. Stretching her fingers, she saw the Evil Eye charm. It stared blankly up at her, and Alex's heart leapt into a gallop, nearly jumping out of her chest.

Atol had given it to her when they were in her dream. How could she have it _now_? It had been a _dream_. Was this a hallucination? It _felt_ real, but hallucinations normally did, right? Taking a few deep breaths, Alex slowed her heart as she rubbed her thumb over the charm. It was cool to the touch and reminded Alex of those empty eyes—then she remembered the betrayal that marred his face and made Alex's heart fall.

"_Hvor langt er det?_" Jasmine asked in a broken accent, turning to look at Jakob. Her voice revealed how tired she was, and Alex guessed that she was asking how far the house was or something of that sort.

"_En time,_" Jakob answered, staring ahead.

_One hour_, thought Alex, guessing that that was what he had said.

She knew that time was distorted in dreams, but it normally felt like hours or even days packed into minutes or even seconds. This had felt like only minutes, a half-hour at most, yet about two hours had gone by as if it were nothing. Time was easily manipulated in one's mind. It was something abstract that people have tried—and failed—to make concrete since they decided they needed a beginning.

The _nazar_ never seemed to warm up in Alex's hand as she stroked it with her thumb. It was forever just a few degrees below room temperature, the coolness traveling up Alex's arm and stopping at her shoulder. She would flip it into her other hand and stroke it on the other side as she stared out the window, her wings becoming numb. It was the same feeling she got in her leg when she tucked it under her when she sat, sometimes staying in that position for an hour or so. It felt like crystals were pumping through the veins, collecting in some places and threatening to burst the walls.

It was weird feeling it in her wings, but Alex guessed that she should be happy they weren't broken after all of the blows she took to her back when in the forest. She shook her head slightly to get rid of those thoughts, wishing that she had brought her mp3 or cellphone. Harper never called or texted while away on her vacations—something about there being no service at where she stays. She would just contact her right before she left and as soon as she arrived back in the city. That thought brought pictures of the debris back to Alex.

Her home was gone.

The farthest Alex had ever traveled was New Jersey, and that was only once to shop at an outlet mall with Harper, Nellie, and Nellie's older sister, Karen. Alex did not know the full extent of the damage, but one thing she knew was for sure: It was completely and utterly devastated.

More than devastated. There were no words for it. Nothing in the dictionaries of _any_ language could sum up how horrible it was.

None of the masonry buildings would have been anywhere close to a match for the earthquake, which was a majority of the village homes. Harper had lived in one. Had Mr. and Mrs. Finkle been there? Had they survived?

Whole buildings had come crashing down, and Alex wondered about the monuments New York was famous for.

What about the Empire State Building Alex had stood at the top of not long ago? The American International Building in Lower Manhattan? The United Nations Secretariat Building? The Brooklyn Bridge? The many museums and theatres that made New York renowned for culture? The Madison Square Garden? And what about the Statue of Liberty?

Surely the symbol of freedom had survived? Tears built up in Alex's eyes as she thought about this, but she blinked them back, trying to shut down her mind when something horrible happens. If not for Justin or school, Alex would not know about some of those buildings, and Alex had seen the statue in fifth grade. They had not been allowed to go to the top of it for certain reasons Alex didn't like thinking about, but she had seen it.

She kept rubbing the _nazar_, trying to regulate her breathing when she realized that it had gotten shallow and quick. She breathed through her mouth, trying not to think about the disaster.

"Things like that happen all the time," she murmured under her breath, needing the assurance to be out loud and not in her head. Alex felt like she could not trust her mind anymore. Not with that monster living inside it. She was worse than a monster, but Alex still had the reflex to avoid swearing—plus, she could not find the right words that would rightfully describe her. Elias's eyes flickered her way before looking out the window again.

"_Does that make it any less horrible?"_ Idolon questioned. _"The Guardians and Divines have the power to stop such disasters. Yet they allow you to lose your home. They allow so many people to _die_. Why would you even consider following them still? They are the reason you are being driven away—you, who is supposed to be their most prized asset. What about the others? If they were not connected to you, they'd still be in the rubble. Just like the other people that do not have as much potential to help their own selfish gains such as yourself."_

_Don't listen,_ Alex told herself. _Don't listen. Don't listen. Don't listen._

She tried her best to keep a straight face as she stared out the window as she felt the spine-tingling sensation she got when someone was watching her. She was willing to bet that it was Juliette, but she did not turn around. The blonde had every right to be angry. Alex would be too, and she actually wanted Juliette to _stay_ angry. Alex did not want her forgiveness.

"_You cannot ignore me forever, Alex,"_ hissed Idolon in a dangerous voice._ "Along with everything in your room, those needles carrying the potion, too, did break."_

She seemed to retreat after that, but Alex did not hold her breath. Idolon would be back. Without anything keeping her away, Idolon would intrude on Alex and try to take control. Alex had to be alert. She had to be ready for a mental battle to keep the demoness back. She did not want to think about the damage that would be done if Idolon gained control.

The rest of that hour was quiet, and Alex had become jittery, her thumbs rubbing the _nazar_ compulsively now. She would even forget that she was holding it until she looked down. Her leg bounced, and it took most of her attention to slow her heart rate. Alex had never experienced claustrophobia before, but it seemed as though Jasmine had been feeling it for a while now as well, her fingers drumming along her leg to a beat Alex did not know.

It was another few minutes before the van reached Roslindale, lights on in many homes and chattering from TVs, radios, and people on phones sounding from behind the walls. It all sounded muffled to Alex, and she was glad that she could not hear it. The city was not covered in debris, but there were clues here and there—mainly among the panicked people—that the area had also felt the waves even when they are hours away from the epicenter. Who else had felt it? How much more damage had been witnessed?

It must have been one of the largest earthquakes in history in Alex's opinion, though she did not know for sure. She had not even known that New York could even _experience_ earthquakes, let alone one so _huge_. She tried to put it out of her mind as Jakob turned onto Iona Road, parking in front of a townhouse that had the lights off except for one upstairs. Jasmine was the first to exit the vehicle, quickly muttering something under her breath. She instantly had the image of a Magician once again, and she went to the front door, knocking on the door lightly.

Watching the window with the yellow light spilling out, Alex caught a glimpse of a shadow and wondered who she was about to meet next. Elias opened the door, but Alex was the last out, her eyes moving over to the door, which opened, revealing a woman nearly a head shorter than Jasmine. The slant of light and dark obscured her features, but Alex noticed something before exiting the van—she had fangs.

Jakob drove away as the others went towards the townhouse, Elias in the back with darting eyes that were gold-flecked moonlit once again. Jasmine and the woman moved aside, allowing the family to file in, she, Jasmine, and Elias wearing faces that made them have the dangerous, protective airs of body guards. Elias motioned for Jasmine to go in first, and she quickly obliged. Elias came in soon afterwards, locking the door behind him.

There were three deadbolts, and there was something drawn on the door. It looked like a six-pointed star made from two triangles suspended within a circle created by a snake biting its own tail, and it had a weird symbol in the center. It also had two other symbols with a similar design in the top two spaces on either side of the top point, the symbols for male and female on either side, and images of the sun and moon on the bottom spaces. Alex's heart skipped a beat when she thought it to be drawn in blood.

Seeing this, the woman quickly assured, "Don't worry. It's sap from bloodroot. Also, that smell is white sage, not pot. I burn some every month. You'll also notice sneezeweed by all the doors and windows, as well as berries from bittersweet nightshade in the bathrooms. So don't eat them. The berries won't kill you, but they _will_ make you sick, seeing as they're not ripe yet. They work best when green."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked this, still holding onto Juliette, though his touch was gentler now as he held onto her shoulders.

"Bittersweet nightshade berries counteract craft that has negative or dark energy," the woman answered calmly.

Her words were steady and well-articulated. She enunciated as if she had gone through extensive speech classes over the years, and there was a certain power to her words. It was an underlying air that was subtle yet could be noticed fairly easily by someone paying enough attention. She was a person of authority and therefore demanded respect. It was not something she would get in their faces with, but it was still expected.

Alex had heard that voice before.

"You're High Commander Landon," Alex said in slight awe as she turned to take in the woman's features.

The woman smiled lightly at the statement, only showing a small line of white—not enough to flash her fangs at everyone in the room. Jasmine had moved into the den, turning on the overhead light and ruffling her wings. Before, only a lamp provided minimal light, which Jasmine turned off. She then moved on to the kitchen, but Alex was watching the High Commander of the Purities, taking in her olive skin, green-blue eyes, and rust-colored curls pulled back into a high ponytail that allowed the tips to just brush the space between her shoulder blades.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted, "but you may call me Natasha. I've never been much for formalities, yet most of these guys prefer the traditions."

Her eyes were soft as she spoke, but she kept an erect back and a stance that showed she was ready for a fight at any given time. She was not tall and willowy as Alex normally pictured Vampires. Instead, she was maybe a half-inch shorter than Theresa, and she had a large bust and narrow hips. Well-toned arms came from broad shoulders, and Natasha carried herself with confidence. She did not look especially dangerous, but Alex decided that she would rather have Natasha on her side than risk fighting against her. The woman also looked to be in her mid-thirties at the most.

Alex gave a nod, and she introduced the others, starting with her parents and ending with Juliette. She had skipped over Joan, guessing that the two already knew each other. Joan had her ears disguised to look Human once again, and she only gave a respectful bow before scurrying into the kitchen to help Jasmine. Natasha nodded in greeting to each person, her hands clasped behind her back. She wore a tunic with wide sleeves, and her light-wash jeans were tucked into combat boots. Alex guessed that she had weapons hidden, but she kept her mouth shut.

It should be obvious that such an important person as her would be well-equipped and prepared. She led the group into the den, which was furnished with two couches and a few chairs. In the back was a table with six chairs, and Elias stood at the wall by there, always alert. Natasha sat down in a cushioned chair carefully, motioning for the others to sit down. She crossed one leg over the other, and Alex noted that her chair was placed where she could see everyone.

After everyone sat down, Natasha began to explain her position, expression becoming one that showed she meant business and would do all she could for them. Everything about her may demand respect and scream "leader", but Alex could see in those almond-shaped eyes that Natasha had the large and courageous heart of one who served.

"As Seraphina had stated, my formal title is High Commander Landon. I am the High Commander of the Purities. Normally I would be in Celetsiakami, but I believe the other commanders have it under control, and this is a special circumstance. I am deeply sorry about the loss of your home, and I feel the need to inform you that I do not believe in coincidences. That is not to say that the earthquake is directly connected to this current mission concerning all of you, but everything is relevant in my opinion and the opinion of many others. This being something at such a large magnitude, it cannot be ignored.

"Many scouts in or around the area are helping the survivors, and I had even sent some that were currently in Celetsiakami just to make sure that needs are met. However, I need to hold many of my people back. I am sure that the Evils were not directly involved with the earthquake—not even they will mess with nature when they can use another method—but I have no doubts they will take advantage of it in an instant.

"I do not mean to scare anyone, but I do want all of you to be prepared. You will be provided food and rest here for the time being, and once the paperwork is settled, you will be split up and sent to your designated areas. I understand that this is a very rough time, but this is the best way we can think of to keep you safe." Natasha spoke with her hands, though it was not so much to where it became distracting.

The youngest of the Russo children blinked as he looked at the High Commander. "Why can't you just take us to this Celetsiakami place? If it's like your HQ or something, then that should be safe, right?"

That was probably the most intelligent thing Alex had ever heard Max ask, and it was too late for her to hide the shock on her face. Of course, the others in her family seemed just as surprised. Max sat between his mom and dad on the couch directly in front of Natasha and next to the couch seating Justin and Juliette that directly faced Alex in her cushioned chair.

"We…" Natasha took a breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds. "That is not possible at the moment. We have plenty of room, of course, but this would actually be safer than bringing all of you to Celetsiakami. Especially after hearing what Svajonė had said about…" She trailed off, but Alex saw her eyes flicker her way ever so slightly.

Apparently, Juliette had seen it too and was now on her feet. Elias shifted into a ready stance, seeing her position, but instead of charging towards Alex, she just shouted at her:

"_You're_ the one putting all of us in danger! This is probably a part of _your_ plan! Was _my_ life not satisfying enough?! You have to kill off the people that _raised_ you and _loved_ you too?!" Her voice became a low growl. "Then again, a _beast_ like you probably doesn't know the meaning of love."

Tears burning her eyes, Alex was on her feet. "I WOULD _NEVER_—"

"SAVE IT!" Juliette's voice was piercing, her eyes now red and once again filled with fury.

She bared her fangs, causing Natasha to jump up and stand between them, arms outstretched and ready to push either of them back if one tried to step forward. Juliette ignored the woman, still glaring at Alex.

Rage made the Notte blind to everything but Alex as she spat at her. "You know what you are, yet you still play along as if you could make up for it! Well, guess what! They're _gone_! You're _here_! As long as you walk free there is no _justice_!"

At some point, her voice wavered between an American accent and an English one. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her breathing was reduced to uneven jerks of air into her lungs.

"_I'm_ the one who judges what justice is around here, and right now I call for _order_!" Natasha's voice was not as loud as Juliette's, but it was firm and had sounded harsh in Alex's ears. Natasha also bared her fangs, and Theresa seemed to cringe slightly, though her attention was mainly on Alex.

"What do you want me to do?" Alex asked meekly. She did not care who saw her crying at that moment.

As if to torture her, Idolon shoved even more memories into Alex's mind. She did not collapse this time, but she did feel dizzy. It also made her sick, but that was from seeing all of those faces. Fear radiated off all of them. It had tasted so sweet. It had been invigorating having that power over them. The chase had been the best part. Then had come the drinking of fear that had made Idolon smile as she sucked the life right out of them. The soul had followed soon afterwards.

Souls were always surrounded by a Soulstone, which protected the soul as it went to Shkia. It was difficult to grab hold of it before a Sparrik could arrive and take the soul to the realms of the dead, but Seraphina had turned it into an art. Each gem was different. There was a center stone that could be of any shape. That held the core of the soul—the pureness every person possessed. Orbiting it were other stones of all lengths that resembled diamond-shaped shards of ice and just as delicate-looking. These contained memories of the mind, magic of the spirit, and the being of the person that stayed close—but never truly touched—that untainted purity. Seraphina would try to taint it, but she could never touch it. She could only keep her hands around the outer stones, watching the color and light that played along the living gems.

"I can see them now, do you know that?" Alex's voice nearly caught in her throat, coming out as a squeak in the end. She coughed and continued. "I see adults. I see teenagers. I see _children_. They stare at me, _begging_ to be let go. I'd let them go now if it wasn't too late. What do you want me to do? 'Cause I'm sure that saying 'sorry' is out of the question, right? It's _way_ past anything a one-word apology can fix, right?

"I _murdered_, I know. I _stole their souls_. I know that! What _you_ don't understand though is that I've _changed_. The woman you saw… the woman that killed _you_… she's a completely different person. She was shoved into the back of my screwed-up brain when I was sent to New York as a baby." She swallowed, trying to keep her sobbing to a minimum. "You have every right to be mad at me for killing you, but _don't_ you _dare_ say I'd kill my family." Alex spoke through gritted teeth now. "I'd kill _myself_ before I laid a hand on _any_ of them. And I'm _not_ free. You may be haunted by that day those centuries ago, but _I'm_ haunted by that murderous bitch of a personality and memories that last for _years_. That's worse than _any_ prison you could force me into."

Everyone stared at her. Jasmine and Joan had stepped out of the kitchen, viewing the fracas before them. Juliette no longer bared her fangs, and Alex was relieved. Those marks on her shoulders still burned. However, the Notte still looked ready to lunge herself at Alex if she were given even a fraction of a second to do so. Her next words were slow and held a bitter tone that seemed to freeze the air around her.

"What the hell do you want? _Forgiveness_?" She spat out the last word as if it burned her tongue.

"No!" That word was so pleading and needy, Juliette was suddenly taken aback, shock clear in her eyes that slowly turned back to that warm brown everyone was used to. After a few jerky breaths, Alex fell back into the chair, nearly crushing her primary feathers. "Please don't forgive me. If Idolon is right about _any_thing, it's that I'm weak. I wouldn't be able to handle it. I can't handle forgiveness—not for everything I've done. If you have _any_ mercy left to give someone like me, then allow me that one wish. Don't forgive me. Please."

The entire room was silent, and Alex dared not look up to see anyone's expressions. After some time, it was Joan's quiet voice that broke through the stagnant air.

"I'll take her up to her room." She went over to Alex and pulled her up onto her feet before anyone could respond. She led Alex to the stairs, which Alex had trouble climbing with her gelatin-like legs. They made it, though, and Alex was led into the nearest bedroom, which had two beds and two dressers, reminding Alex of a dorm room or something.

Alex lay on her stomach on the bed closest to the window, and Joan turned on the lamp on the nightstand that sat between the two beds. Alex looked her way but did not see her. She was staring at nothing. Her mind was blank, and Idolon stayed silent—much to Alex's surprise and pleasure. That was one less thing to deal with. Yet, here was the redhead sitting on the bed next to her, staring intently into her distant eyes. Fortunately, she was quiet, but like all good things, it had to end.

"Why don't you want forgiveness?" Joan inquired as sympathetically as she could. Again, she slouched slightly, and Alex noticed the lavender rings that circled her eyes. She needed rest after everything that happened, but Alex knew that Joan would refuse the necessity until her question was answered.

It was a while before Alex could think of the words to answer the question, and she noticed a digital clock glaring at her from the nightstand. She reached forward and turned it away from her, the numbers still stuck in her head: 22:42. After counting in her head, Alex realized that that meant it was almost eleven o'clock. It was late, but there sat the girl, still waiting for an answer.

Heaving a sigh, Alex gave it to her in a small voice: "What I did is unforgivable. If _she_ could find it in her to forgive me when _I_ can't… it…" Alex swallowed and tried again after another minute ticked by. "Her forgiveness might actually give me strength. If any of the others were here, I'd tell them the same thing. I don't want _anyone's_ forgiveness. I'm afraid of that strength. If there _is_ any justice in Avalon or whatever, then I'll stay weak."


	22. The Lovers

**Chapter 22: The Lovers**

_"My story is a love story, but only those who are tortured by love can understand what I mean. I was pictured as a fat, unfeeling woman. True, I am fat, but if that is a crime, how many of my sex are guilty. I am not unfeeling, stupid or moronic. My last words and my last thoughts are: Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." - last words of Martha Beck (American murderess)_

"Svajonė, leave us alone, please. Elias is downstairs explaining a few things, so you can just help Jasmine with dinner." Natasha strode into the room, her voice much softer than before.

She opened one of the drawers of the horizontal dresser and took out a first-aid kit. Joan had gotten onto her feet as soon as the High Commander entered the room, only giving a bow as a response before leaving, her steps faltering a bit.

As Joan headed towards the stairs, Natasha added, "Also, please bring me up some Darjeeling tea, as well as for some for Alex. Make sure to keep the tea leaves in the cup. I'd like to give Alex a reading."

"Of course, High Commander Landon," Joan responded, heading down the stairs, her voice finally portraying a bit of her exhaustion.

As the sound of her footfalls faded, Natasha sat down where the redhead had been arms crossed over her chest carefully as one leg swung over to cross over the other. She sat quietly and watched Alex, patiently waiting for some sort of response. She looked like she had dealt with people with bad attitudes like Alex and knew not to push them to their breaking point—it could end with _her_ getting broken.

However, it was even _more_ annoying for people to just sit there and wait rather than asking hundreds of questions. Alex just lay there, but after a couple of minutes, she could no longer stand Natasha just sitting there nonchalantly and pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"What is it?" Her words were quick and harsh, and her voice sounded like a growl of warning.

So much had been packed into these past few days, and Alex did not want to take it anymore. It felt like her brain was shutting down. There were so many pleading eyes as they begged for mercy. There were so many flailing limbs as they tried to fight back. There were so many earsplitting screams as they ran in terror, knowing that they would not get away. There were so many tears from loved ones as they watched the bodies being buried, pushed off down a river or sea, or burned in ceremony. There were so many angry vows of vengeance. Then they would die shortly after by the hands of Idolon or maybe some other Evil.

It tore Alex apart. How was she expected to talk about this to the High Commander of the _Purities_? How could _she_ possibly understand _this_?

"I understand that you are upset. Juliette was mostly on edge because she was thirsty. I gave her some of my stash, so she should be alright. As for what she said—"

"If you're going to try and shovel me a load of crap, stop before I have to smell it. There's no way anyone like _you_ could understand what I'm going through."

Alex tried hard not to start crying again. She was not going to break down in front of this woman, who just kept on an even face when Alex spoke. A few curls had escaped the ponytail, falling over her oval face.

"Anyone like me?" Natasha seemed to part her thin lips just far enough to flash her fangs on purpose. "And exactly what is someone like me like?"

Her voice was calm, but there was a certain edge to it that let Alex know that Natasha could break her in half if she so wished.

Refusing to be intimidated, Alex sat up straighter and narrowed her eyes. "Oh-so righteous and never having to deal with the racking guilt of killing people in cold blood. The only thing you have to live with is the knowledge that you didn't defeat evil forever when you had the chance."

"Is that what you think?" Natasha kept her composure, never faltering. It was almost like she had practiced this response. She waited until Alex gave a nod before she continued. "You don't think I've had to deal with any kills? Many of us have had dark pasts, mine being one of the darker ones. There are some in the Purities that don't even like me being the High Commander. I _have_ killed, Seraphina. I used to be an Undead."

She took a breath, but Alex could only stare, so she moved on. "I can be pretty hardheaded—more so then than now. I was suddenly attacked by a Nock upstate while I was working on a painting. I fought him off for hours, miraculously, too proud of myself to call for backup. The Nock died when the sun rose, but a Conalin showed up in his place. I was too weak to fight the bastard off. I wanted to call for help, but it was too late by then. The Conalin bit me and forced me to drink _his_ blood. I tried not to drink, but he forced it down my throat. I fell unconscious afterwards, but when I woke up, he was gone, and I knew that I was already changing into the very monster I had long-ago sworn to fight."

Natasha stopped when Joan reentered the room, carrying a tray in front of her with two cups of light amber liquid, dark leaves that had been crumbled into tiny pieces littering the bottoms of the two cups. A few pieces floated about the top, and Natasha took a cup gratefully, muttering a word of thanks.

Joan merely nodded and held out the tray towards Alex. Hands trembling slightly, she took the cup with both hands, dropping the _nazar_ onto the floor. She had not realized that she still had it until then, but Alex ignored the charm for the moment. There was no handle like with most tea cups Alex had seen. It was white ceramic with floral designs on one side, and it was shaped like a small bowl.

Sniffing the tea, Alex was surprised to find that it had a floral aroma with a smoky muskiness twirling along with it into the girl's nostrils.

Taking a testing sip, Alex did not find the taste vile per say, but she would not necessarily drink it if there was another choice. There was a sort of musky spiciness to it, and it settled over her tongue well enough that she wouldn't immediately spit it out. She took another sip, allowing a small smile towards Joan as she left the room again, closing the door behind her. Natasha seemed to be enjoying the tea much more than Alex, and she took a few sips as she stared at the floor, her eyes empty for that moment. Alex could see how that memory was difficult for her, but if she had been an Undead, then what was she now? She stayed quiet though, knowing that those questions would be answered soon.

Looking up again, Natasha had a spark of remorse in her eyes as she held the cup in front of her, the rose painted on the ceramic facing Alex.

"The transformation is long or short depending on the person, taking anywhere between a day and a year. My transformation lasted a little over a month, ending with a seizure. I killed my first innocent right after my transformation was complete. He was a doctor, who had been trying to restart my heart with a defibrillator. I tore out his windpipe with my teeth and drank his blood as if it were nectar from the Guardians. I had been in a hospital at the time—my sister and friend _forced_ me to go, not realizing what I was going through. When the nurses came, I killed three of them, only stopping to drink their life-blood from them before escaping." Looking away, Natasha began to fight for composure again. She drank more of her tea to calm herself, looking at the door.

With her right hand, Alex picked up her _nazar_, feeling the usual coolness sweeping up into her arm. "What happened?"

After another long sip, Natasha met Alex's eyes again, but she did not seem to be looking at Alex. She was looking into the eyes of her victims, just as Alex had been.

"I was a cold-blooded killer for a little more than two years. I killed forty-two in all. I killed forty-two people before I was killed by one of my best friends, Taras. You know him as Toris. He beheaded me after I attacked his younger sister, Raisa. That was when he decided to join the Purities. I was dead for some time—later I learned that it had been for nearly a month—before I was taken out of Limbo by a Sparrik. In case you can't remember, Sparriks are dog-like spirits that guide spirits over to the realms of the dead for judgment. He brought me before a man and woman. They were Shanta, Divine of Death, and Shanto, Divine of Life. They gave me a new physical body that was just like my old one, and I got a second chance. Unfortunately, that did not mean anyone forgot what I'd done. It took quite some time to gain back _any_ trust—even if I _was_ their new High Commander."

Sighing, Natasha looked down again and finished her tea. She used her pinky to stir the leaves on the bottom before setting the cup onto the nightstand upside-down, only looking up when Alex decided to speak.

"How did you become the High Commander, then? If no one trusts you, why let you lead them?" She took a few more sips of her tea, accidentally swallowing a few of the leaves. Alex gave a cough but sipped the rest of the tea. She then stirred the leaves like Natasha had done before setting the cup next to Natasha's.

Giving a humorless laugh, a weak spark of the Natasha Alex had seen downstairs at the door lit up her eyes for a second.

"We are not a democracy, Seraphina. Long story short: The very first High Commander and our founder had a council of nine, each a Commander of different areas of the Purities. His first order of business was to choose a person in the Purities that would take over if he dies or is no longer able to lead. However, it was not his choice. A person is appointed by the council, and he would make the final vote. That's how I came in back in the present. Our last High Commander was just as proud at my accomplishments as a scout, which probably only did more to inflate my head." She gave another light chuckle. "There was just one problem: I was Undead when High Commander Sargsyan was murdered."

The woman paused, eyes closing for a moment as she murmured, "Spirit be guided."

She then took a breath and met Alex's eyes. "Still, the charm was already in place, and I received the Alicorn of Luna. That is what gives the High Commanders their highly unusual and awesome powers, by the way.

"Taras had not known anything about it when he killed me. The Alicorn stayed with my spirit even when I was dead. No one knows why or how, even to this day, but that is the reason I was brought back to life. That is all I know about it and even remember my death. You may ask me more, but I cannot guarantee I will know the answers. The point is, the assumptions you have made are wrong, and I know _much_ more than you had given me credit for. Now, I am willing to listen to whatever you have to say. Do you wish to start with your reading? I believe the leaves have settled by now. I prefer to use rune stones, but I left mine at my home in Celetsiakami." Another chuckle left her. "Tea leaves work well, though."

Without talking, Alex just took her cup, noticing the leaves that had fallen onto the nightstand. Turning the cup back over, she looked at the little blobs, not sure what to make of it. Still, she handed it over to Natasha, who frowned. She turned the cup around in her hands, inspecting the collection of leaves from all sides. She looked up at Alex for a moment before inspecting the tea leaves again.

"Well," she began, "this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. One of these clusters resembles a dagger, which, of course, shows danger coming from either yourself or others. Basically, it is saying to beware. What gets me though is that it seems to be connected to something. I think it looks sort of like a bag. A bag tends to point towards a trap, but it looks like it might be open somewhat, which also points to escape. The dagger is sort of wedged into the opening, suggesting that the danger will present itself with your escape." Natasha set down the cup onto the nightstand and grabbed the first-aid kit that she had set next to her earlier. "Let the questions begin." She went over and stood by Alex, inspecting the shoulder that Juliette had bitten earlier that evening.

"What are you doing?" Alex tried to move away, but Natasha grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.

"After everything I've told you, _that's_ your question?" Natasha gave a small laugh as she took out an alcohol wipe and began to clear away the dried blood. "I just want to make sure this doesn't get infected. She got you pretty deep, didn't she?"

Sitting still, Alex sighed. "She had every right to." Her words were low, but Natasha seemed to hear her just fine.

"Beating yourself up will do no good." She spoke as if it were that easy: Alex should not blame herself. "I didn't come up here to help you out with your little pity party. It's not my style. It's hard to get over something like that, I know, but it _can_ be done. It took me a couple pints of ale and a shot of vodka, but I got through it."

"Huh?" Alex looked over at Natasha, who had that joking twinkle in her eye again. She had cleaned the dried blood and now broke the scab. She took out a small, brown bottle and uncapped it as Alex asked, "How could you drink at a time like—SHIT!" This time, Alex did yank away, her hand grasping her now-burning shoulder. "What _is_ that?! I _do_ have to use this shoulder, you know."

"Relax," Natasha urged, recapping the bottle and getting out a small cloth. "It's just peroxide. Believe me: it hurts a million times worse when you pour it in a cut in your side so deep, it feels like your guts are about to spill out. I nearly yanked that towel rack right off the wall." She laughed again and pulled Alex closer. She moved her hand and began dabbing at the peroxide. "As for your first question, ale's one of my personal favorite drinks—especially when prepared by Dwarves, and it seemed like a pretty good time. Besides, it's not like I got drunk—just a little buzzed. Vampires aren't as sensitive to alcohol as most other races, so I was alright. I'd offer you some of the scotch I have downstairs, but I'm pretty sure your parents would kill me. Plus, we need you as alert as possible right now."

"Do all of you guys drink, or are you just special?" Alex tried not to flinch as Natasha cleaned her wound, though the laughter was grating on her nerves. She wondered if Natasha had dipped into the scotch before the van had arrived. The thought reminded Alex of something. "And where's Jakob? He has Dragon with him."

"Dragon?" Natasha stopped cleaning the wound for a bit as she thought. "Oh, the fire lizard—_really_ creative name, by the way."

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. Jakob brought him to Wiztech. He's going to head back to NYC to help out. And no, I'm not special, but we don't _all _drink. Senka Divines, we do have _children_ there. Besides, not everyone likes the taste, and some just prefer to be on alert just in case. But most of us have our ways of dealing with stress. I have drinking—not very healthy, so I also paint. Jakob smokes—again, not healthy, but, eh, what are you going to do? Jasmine does math problems to relieve stress, and Elias does martial arts. Most of us know how to fight, but Elias is one of those that absolutely loves it and can be found in different training rooms every day to clear his head and think."

Looking over her _nazar_, now shiny from the peroxide, Alex thought about this. They all had their ways of dealing with the stress that would otherwise drive them mad. "You said you painted? Are there any here? I'd like to see them." Alex wiped her charm on her paints to clean it of the liquid that stung her skin.

"Sure. Just let me finish… this…" Natasha wrapped gauze around the wound before putting up the first-aid kit. She stretched with her arms over her head, and her sleeves fell slightly, revealing knife blades. "They're in the next room." She cracked her back and neck before reaching for the door.

The popping sound made Alex cringe, but she got up, Natasha's tea cup catching her eye. "Aren't you going to see what picture yours shows?"

Natasha waved the question away as she opened the door. "It's been the same picture ever since I became the High Commander. I just like tea, and setting the cup up for a reading is just part of my routine. I do it subconsciously now." She left the room, beckoning for Alex to follow. "Besides, it's hard to do a self-reading objectively."

Before going after Natasha, Alex turned over the cup, knocking some leaves onto the floor. At the bottom of the cup was a clear picture of a question mark.

Raising her eyebrows, Alex set the cup down again and trotted out of the room after Natasha, who was in the next room, which also held two beds, but next to one of the dressers were a little over a dozen acrylic and oil paintings. Alex picked up the one on top, looking over the trees full of leaves that made them look like they were on fire. The fading light added to the illusion, and at the trunk of one of the trees was a bouquet of tulips and a white candle that was melted down to where it was barely there. Wax had melted over the bright green grass, and it looked like a few petals had fallen from the wilting flowers.

"It was a memorial. I saw it about a decade ago and took a picture. I prefer to paint landscapes, but little things like that would catch my eye. Most of my paintings are back in Celetsiakami now, but I kept these here. After graduating from college in Washington, I moved here, but I traveled all over as an artist—as my cover of course. Scouts are required a cover occupation to fit into society. This was mine, and quite a few of my paintings got into magazines."

Natasha's eyes grew distant, a smile kissing her lips, bringing out her natural blush that seemed to have come from near-constant smiling and laughter.

After setting that down, Alex looked over the next painting, which was of a mountain range behind a line of pine trees. In front of the pine trees as a body of water that reflected the large, beautiful moon. Behind that was a smaller canvas with some trees with pink blossoms, some of the blossoms floating to the ground. Natasha said something about a Cherry Blossom Festival in DC, and Alex looked at the next painting, which was a desert landscape with plateaus in the background, the sunset welcoming shadows to come out and dance with the fading light.

There were also a few paintings Alex was sure were of landscapes not found in the US, due to specific landmarks Alex had seen on posters or in magazines. One was of a beautiful fountain with horse statues in the water, squirting out water, one looking as if it could just leap out of the fountain and gallop away. Natasha said that she had loved Residenzplatz Square when she was in Austria. She had gone there with a friend, and Natasha wanted to see if she would be able to paint the fountain without completely ruining it.

"Why'd you move here to Boston? I'm guessing you could have chosen just about anywhere, so why here?" Alex looked over the final painting, which was on an eight-inch by ten-inch canvas.

This one was not a landscape but two people—one being Natasha around ten years ago. The other person was a man ears like Toris had and copper skin. His eyes had a slanted shape and were hazel with specks of bright green. Dark brown-black hair framed his square face, his thin lips only in a small smile whereas Natasha looked absolutely ecstatic, pulling the man into a hug. Her hair was down, the curls falling around her shoulders. She did not look afraid to show her fangs, whereas the man made sure that his were concealed.

"We don't always get to choose," Natasha corrected, "but High Commander Sargsyan had a soft spot for me. That's his picture by the way from when he was still a spy." She pointed at the man in the painting, and Alex turned the canvas over, seeing two names: Natasha Landon and Levon Sargsyan. "But I chose Boston because I moved to Washington when I was about five and fell in love with American history. Wasn't hard, really. I've fallen in love with just about every kind of history, especially Egyptology and Medieval Europe."

_Oh great,_ thought Alex sarcastically, _another history nut._

"But Boston is very important in American history, and I really enjoy being here. However, not everyone shares my love, especially Jasmine, but she's a math geek. She's bound to be insane." Natasha began to put her canvases back into place, and Alex handed back the smallest canvas of her and the dead ex-High Commander. "And since I know you might ask, I was born in a small village on a mountain in Scotland. It's mostly inhabited by Dwarves, but there are also several Elves and a few Vampires, my mom being one of them. My dad was a Magician, by the way."

Blinking, Alex looked up at Natasha, confused and slightly angry. "Then how were you allowed to learn magic? My brothers and I have nearly killed ourselves trying to study and get ready for the load of crap they call the Competition." Not all of that was true, especially about her killing herself to study. That was mostly just Justin.

"My family was a little different. My father was allowed to know about magic because he was Gifted. He had the ability to walk through solid objects and earned a spot on the police force for the Council of Magick. They allow Magicians who are Gifted to know about magic, especially if it's a Gift they can use." Natasha stretched again and leaned over on the door frame. "It's something else in this backwards society that needs to be changed, eh?" She looked nonchalant, but Alex could see the fire in her eyes. Natasha hated those rules and wanted them abolished. Unfortunately, there were other, more pressing, problems waiting to be solved. "Now let's go downstairs. Jasmine is a very good cook, and I'm getting pretty hungry."

Nodding, Alex followed Natasha out of the room, but before they reached the stairs, Joan had come up, giving a bow to Natasha once again. "Excuse me, but may I speak with Alex for just a moment? It won't take long." She was breathing a bit harder than usual, and she clutched her side, her bad arm hanging lankily at her side.

"Are you alright?" Natasha came over towards Joan, but she backed up, quickly nodding.

"Just tired. I think I may skip dinner and go to bed." Joan took in a deep breath and stood up taller, trying to hide the pain she was in. Alex guessed that everything that had happened finally caught up to her.

Still looking worried, Natasha nodded. She went downstairs, and Alex turned to girl, having to look down to meet her eyes—it still felt odd having to do that. "What's up?"

"Come in here, please?" Joan motioned towards the room, and Alex went in and sat on the foot of the bed closest to the window. She still clutched the _nazar_ in one hand, feeling like she couldn't let go. It was a part of her now. Joan closed the door behind her and leaned against it, taking in a few more jerky breaths. The rings around her eyes were more noticeable now, and she was trembling. "Alex, you must tell me where your soul is being kept."

"What?" The question completely caught her off-guard. Her soul? How was she supposed to know where it was? If she did, she would have gotten it already. "I have _no_ idea where it is. Why? What's wrong? Is something happening?"

It looked as if Joan had stopped listening after Alex admitted that she didn't know where her soul was. She stared at the ground, her eyes wide and mouth open as she gasped for breath. She seemed to swallow a scream, fighting hard not to show how much pain she was in. Alex stood back up, inching towards girl who suddenly squeezed her eyes shut as her head inclined. She gritted her teeth, and her nails dug into the wood of the door. She swallowed another scream, only a squeak escaping her lips. She suddenly vomited onto the floor, and Alex stopped, questions spinning through her mind. Joan brought her hands to the sides of her head as she looked down again, eyes still closed.

"You… don't… know…" Her words were forced, her voice barely over a shuttering breath.

"_What's wrong with the little bitch?"_ Idolon chimed in after being silent for so long that Alex had nearly forgotten about her. _"Is all of this excitement too much for her? You should have killed her when you had the chance."_

There was a certain lilt to Idolon's voice Alex couldn't pin down. Amusement maybe? She wasn't sure, but now wasn't the time to think about it.

"Joan, what's going on?" Alex was getting very worried. She had seen too much death already. She could not deal with Joan being so ill and having no idea how to help. "Maybe you should lie down—"

This time, Joan could not hold back the ear-splitting scream, her nails digging into her scalp as she did so. Alex instantly gasped and backed up when Joan screamed, staring at her teeth. Joan now had fangs. Her canine teeth on the top row were an inch-and-a half at least, and her canine teeth on the bottom row were a little more than half as long but looked just as sharp.

Alex went to the wall, clutching the _nazar _even more tightly. Joan finally looked up, her eyes the color of those cherry blossoms in Natasha's painting. Alex could hear Natasha and Elias coming up the stairs, and Joan quickly turned and shouted something in a different language as she held her hand out towards the door. That was when Alex realized that it was not a language she had heard Joan speak before. It sounded like… Latin? Italian? She wasn't completely sure.

Clutching her stomach again, Joan lunged for Alex, hissing like Juliette had earlier that night. Alex dodged, but Joan managed to catch her around the head with one arm and around the chest with the other. She held Alex down on the floor, one foot on her arm and a knee right between her shoulder blades. Before Alex could make a move to get out of the hold, Joan took back her arm holding her around the chest and pinned down her other arm. She gripped Alex's head by the hair, holding it up a few inches off the floor as Joan breathed even harder, the nails on her other hands sinking into Alex's flesh.

Elias and Natasha threw themselves at the door, the banging sounding like thunder to Alex. They shouted orders, but Alex could not make out the words. The thunder soon became white noise as Alex struggled to get out from under Joan. Idolon began to bark commands, but Alex couldn't make out her words either, tears stinging her eyes.

A sickening **crack** thundered throughout the room as the wood of the door began to give way, contrasting against the shrill of Alex's cry as Joan's fangs sank into the side of her neck.


	23. Nine of Wands

**Chapter 23: Nine of Wands**

"_Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody." - Mark Twain_

It was sharp pain that quickly gave way to ecstasy that Alex had never experienced before. Her mind spun, but it was like a buzz that sent small sparks flying down her spine and through her limbs. Her entire body tingled when another sharp pain shot through her neck as Joan took out her fangs, blood running over her bottom lip and down her chin. She licked her lips, her pupils so large, they almost completely covered her pink irises. A fog settled over Alex's mind, and she began to slip away from the world and into the darkness of a part of her mind she didn't know existed.

She saw Idolon smile and saunter towards a door that led towards golden light, but she had no energy or will to fight her. Eyes unfocused, she just sat there, head slumped over to the side and eyes only half-open. Idolon let out a laugh as she slammed the door shut, and Alex suddenly felt disconnected from the world.

There was only darkness, and she could not even see what Idolon was doing. How had the beast managed to contact Alex, seeing out of her eyes and hearing out of her ears? Alex wanted to move towards the door, but the fog was still settled around her, making it hard for her to do anything. The bliss was wonderful, but at the same time, she was frightened. She suddenly realized that Idolon now had full control of her body, and that thought quickly sobered Alex, but she had no idea how to get control back. She tried shouting, but all was quiet. Alex just sat in the dark, praying that this nightmare would end.

Swearing, Idolon got up but then looked at Alex's hands—_her_ hands. Her lips twisted into a deep leer, a slight chuckle passing through her teeth. The crack in the door grew wider, bits of wood breaking off in splinters.

Almost feeling disoriented, Idolon listened, trying to get a feel to this body once again. She could hear Elias shouting in Wikat as Natasha swore in five languages. There was also the loud breathing of the woman that had been masquerading as Joan, who stared at her with those pale eyes, a small smile kissing her red lips. She looked to be in less pain, and her eyes began to shift back to that pale blue-violet as her fangs retracted. She wiped her mouth and chin as she muttered something in the same language as before, giving Idolon a single nod as Elias and Natasha kept ramming themselves into the door.

Gaining composure, Idolon grabbed Yin-as-Joan by the neck and threw her into the mirror over one of the dressers. Broken glass fell around Yin and pierced her skin. Ignoring it, she threw herself back towards the beast in Alex's body, quickly dodging a side kick and grabbing her ankle.

Yanking her back, she forced Idolon off balance and to fall to one side. She caught herself with her hands, trying to get Yin with a back kick. The shape-shifter, however, jumped up, doing a handspring off of Idolon's back. Being so close to the wall, she used that to push her feet off of and do a back flip, landing awkwardly a few feet away from Idolon just as the door finally broke down. Idolon had just rushed over towards Yin, tackling her to the ground and punching her in the face and forcing her onto the ground. Standing over her, Idolon quickly whispered something and wiped the blood away from her neck just as Natasha rammed herself into her body, knocking them into the far wall and breaking the lamp.

"Back!" Idolon held out her hand, and Natasha went flying backwards, narrowly missing Elias as he bent down next to Yin and helped her onto her feet.

_The fool_, laughed Idolon in her mind, making sure to not let anything show on her face.

Yin was now wiping her tear-filled eyes, staring at Idolon in fear and shock. Elias pushed her behind him, and Idolon's eyes flickered towards his persimmon eyes dangerously. The wounds on her neck were barely visible, and beads of sweat had gathered on her forehead and the back of her neck.

Trying to keep from smirking, Idolon commanded, "Move aside, Witch. Her soul's not worth protecting."

Elias's eyes flashed to black as he scowled, and Idolon charged forward. Elias grabbed her by the arms as Yin backed up to the wall, and he threw Idolon into the wall, her head creating a crack in the window. Blood dampened her hair, but Idolon ignored the pain, gritting her teeth. She got to her feet and raised her hand to cast a spell when a throwing knife suddenly lodged itself into her palm, going all the way through her hand.

A shriek echoed through the room as she brought her hand to her chest. It was cut short when she was thrown onto the floor in front of the door, splinters piercing the skin on her back and digging through the blue-black feathers covering her wings. The remaining air was ripped right out of her pleading lungs when Natasha stomped on her stomach right below her ribs, holding another knife to her throat. A few more curls had escaped her ponytail, and her eyes were filled with fury, the shock gone completely.

Sneering, Idolon risked a breath and growled, "Go ahead. Kill me. Just add another to your list."

The blade touched her throat, and Idolon quit breathing as her heart skipped a beat. She kept composure, though, her lips pressed together to form a straight line. "I _dare_ you" was what she said with her eyes.

"Natasha." The woman stepped off of Idolon and took back her knife when Elias said her name. She took the woman in Alex's body by the neck and yanked her up, forcing her against the wall. Even though Natasha was shorter, she made it to where their eyes met.

"I have half a mind to just end it here and now." Clutching the handle of her throwing knife, Natasha brought the blade up again, blue lightning dancing over the stainless steel. "Go ahead and use your Blackfire. I swear to the Highest Holies that I'll drag you down with me."

With the strength she was able to gather, Idolon managed to wrench Natasha's hand away from her throat and kicked her away. She took a quick, deep breath, cursing Alex for not exercising this body. She dodged a blow by Natasha, dancing around her only to be grabbed in a chokehold by Elias as Yin darted out of the room.

Idolon tried to get out of the hold, but he was cutting off her air. She tried to think of him being set on fire when a sharp pain suddenly cut across her head. She shrieked, and Natasha suddenly stepped back, eyes wide. Elias let go, and Idolon fell to her knees, grabbing the sides of her head. She shrieked as tears gathered, stinging her eyes.

Inside the dark space, the fog had begun to clear around Alex, and she kicked open the door, demanding to get back control. Idolon immediately swooped into the dark area and forced Alex away from the door, making the physical body go limp.

Barely thinking, Alex swung a punch at Idolon, only to have her catch her fist as she knocked Alex's feet from under her. Alex pulled her down with her and flipped her onto her stomach, twisting her arm up over her back. Idolon grunted but kicked Alex in the back, right between the shoulder blades, knocking her forward.

In that moment, Idolon scrambled to her feet and flapped her wings, Alex quickly joining her and head-butting into her ribs. Idolon managed to kick Alex in the left wing and grab a fistful of hair, only to gasp in pain and fall down a few feet. Looking at her hand, she saw countless red dots smaller than pinpricks. She scowled at this and quickly went to the left, narrowly dodging a large ball of blue and white fire. It soon died in the darkness that shrouded the corner of the empty mind that Idolon had been locked in for years. Alex was trying to fly towards the exit, and Idolon realized that the fire had been a diversion.

"Stop!" Idolon made a wall of fire appear in front of Alex, forcing her to skid to a stop.

She tackled Alex to the ground, the mist covering the unseen floor beginning to build up around them and obscure Alex's features, then her body. Idolon soon realized what she was doing.

"Dammit!" She used elemental magic to shove the mist away from them, but Alex's body had disappeared into the mist at that very moment, forcing Idolon to fall to the ground.

Near the doorway, Alex's body solidified, and she took off running again. Idolon swore and shouted, taking off after her. She tackled her in the doorway, half of Alex showered in golden light from a rising sun. Idolon tried to drag her towards the corner, but Alex had gotten much stronger mentally over the past few days and managed to make it into what looked like paradise. She stopped, gaping at the meticulous sprays of color she could only _dream_ of copying on a canvas.

The ground was green and lush, the grass blades grown up so they brushed her calves. There were flowers of all kinds scattered about the grass, and even when stepped on, they sprung back up as if nothing had happened.

The ground wasn't flat—there were rolling hills holding trees and what looked like shrines in the distance, and gorgeous mountains circled the area. There was also a clear stream only some yards away. She began to run towards it, realizing too late that Idolon had been holding onto her arm, her eyes burning with rage. Her nails dug into Alex's dark skin, but there was no pain here.

Alex realized that she did not feel tired anymore. There was no more haze. Everything was becoming clearer. She was beginning to get answers. They were forming in her mind when Idolon threw her back into the darkness with more strength than she had ever shown before. The narrow door began to close, and Alex ran towards it, not giving up.

It slammed shut right before Alex got there, and she began ramming her body against it, throwing everything she had at it so it might open. She still had so many more questions. She wanted to go back into the field and get the answers she thirsted for. She _needed_ them. Tears ran down her cheeks as she sank to her knees, half-heartedly banging on the door with her fist. How had Idolon thrown her back in here when she was so _close_?!

Idolon was much more than just some monstrous second personality. She was like a different _person_. There had to be more to all of this than what was being let on. Natasha had looked at Idolon with such hatred, it nearly masked the fear that also shone in her eyes. She looked as if she would kill Idolon in a _second_ if not for one other person: Alex.

Killing Idolon meant killing her. They needed Alex, but she was also too dangerous to bring to Celetsiakami due to her other "personality."

"_I have half a mind to end it here and now."_

Those had been Natasha's words. She would not care if she had died.

"_I swear to the Highest Holies that I'll drag you down with me."_

Alex was sure that she hadn't been bluffing. There was something no one had told her—unless they didn't know either.

It was obvious to Alex that Natasha knew. Yet, the others seemed to hold Seraphina Sataruskasenka in such a high place, Alex had been struck dumb during that dream with Atol. They didn't know about Idolon being a glutton when it came to power. She would stop at nothing to get it, and that "revolution" couldn't be the only part of the story.

Looking around, Alex looked for some kind of clue. She felt along the door that blended in with the rest of the darkness. She pushed against it with as much force as she could. She then stood back and threw fireball after fireball at it, making them bigger and bigger. She then tried water, large stones, and then lightning.

This being a part of her mind, no element was in short supply. Yet, nothing would open the door. Alex sat down and thought, rubbing the wing Infinity had kicked.

This was _her_ mind. Idolon had been in it so long, she knew all of its nooks and crannies. Yet, something did not make sense to Alex. Everything in this world had to represent a special part of her mind, made concrete so that she could comprehend it. What did that field represent? What did this dark room represent? The field was protected by mountains. The field was bathed in sunlight and filled with flowers and beauty most thought would make her want to hurl.

Alex was complex though. Her diary, with all the pictures of her as a princess with her teddy bear and blanket showed that. Did that field represent the part of Alex's subconscious that the storyline in her diary came from? All the goody-goody-gumdrop stuff that no one expected Alex to have? She had felt so peaceful there, her worries washed away, even at a moment like that.

That bliss had been completely lost on Idolon. No matter her anger or the amount of evil she had, if she _really_ were just a different part of Alex, she would have felt something while there. Instead, it just seemed to make her even more anxious. That did not answer all of Alex's questions, but it was a start, and she moved on to the next problem: What did this dark space represent?

It was dark, and the floor was covered in blue-tinted mist. Alex could see her hand clearly when she held it out in front of her face, and she had seen Idolon clearly even when she was yards away. This was just a room painted completely black, but it was not truly dark. Feeling over the door, Alex found were the frame was. Turning around, she made sure that she stayed were the center was, marching forward and counting her steps. Arms stretched out front, Alex felt another wall when she reached seventy-four.

Feeling along the wall, Alex noticed that this was a door and pushed it open. It was the polar opposite of the field Alex had felt so comfortable in. This field made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and her eyes widened as she examined the carnage.

Carefully, she walked further in, making sure not to trip over the fallen columns and the large chain links that littered the dead grass and wilted flowers. The stream was dried up, and the mountains had crumbled to the ground, but everything beyond the mounds of stone was shrouded in violet-tinted darkness. There were blackened trees with dead leaves forming circles around their trunks, and shriveled fruits also littered the ground, leaving a stench of rot and death.

There was only one fruit that was not completely shriveled, and Alex found it next to the dried-up stream. It was an apple that looked to have been sculpted out of rubies, a browning leaf still stuck to the stem. There was a single bite taken out of it, the flesh tinted brown around the edges of the bite. Alex dropped it back into the bed of grey and brown, walking over to a column with an ionic design sitting next to one of the rotting trees. It was the only column still standing, and on it was a glass dome like the one holding the rose in _Beauty and the Beast_. Alex dared not touch it, but she stared at what it kept within it.

There was a metallic white gem in the shape of a three-dimensional, eight-pointed star that glittered ecstatically when Alex drew near. Orbiting that gem were three-dimensional, diamond-shaped gems of different lengths. They were all of different colors as well, which shifted and changed as they moved. There was also a single shard that seemed not to belong, yet it orbited the star like the other gems. It was metallic black, glittering ominously.

The realization hit Alex like a speeding train. "I'm in Idolon's mind. This is her soul."

**xxx**

As soon as that door was slammed shut, Idolon sealed the doorway with a hex. She then quickly escaped from the field, eyes closed as soon as she spotted one of the trees. She ran towards the mountains and passed through them into Alex's conscious mind. She blinked open her eyes, once again settling into the body.

Idolon woke up to—surprise—a knife at her throat. She was propped up in one of the chairs downstairs, Natasha and Elias in front of her. She guessed that Jasmine and Yin were upstairs, trying to calm down the Notte, Wizard, Magician, and maln-grahs.

Idolon widened her eyes and tried to seem frightened, breathing quickly and shallowly. She forced tears to build up in her eyes, and she noticed Elias ease his stance. However, Natasha still seemed suspicious, so Idolon kept up the act, trying to make it look like she was Alex again. She then tried to regulate her breathing slightly, her heart thudding in her chest. The sensation felt odd now, and the pain from the fight came back, making her flinch slightly. The blade now touched her skin, and she gasped. She also noticed hot pain in her hand, feeling gauze covering the section where the knife had stabbed her.

"It seems like her, High Commander," whispered Elias, looking over Idolon with hazel-green-blue eyes. His lips were pressed together, and lines formed in his forehead as his eyebrows met. "Would we have any way of knowing for sure?"

"Nirabella said that the hex would have kept Idolon out of Alex's mind long enough for Alex to discover right from wrong and develop a basic conscience. According to Joan, Idolon first entered the connection…" Natasha's eyes darted over to give a quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall next to the tall bookcase. "Two days now. That potion closed the door for a few hours, but it was supposed to be for a few days. She would have had time to roam through Alex's mind, looking at some of her memories." She stared into Idolon's eyes skeptically. "We may have to bring in Chandani."

Alarm shot through Idolon, and it took much of her will to not let it show. She crinkled her brow in a questioning way, trying to show that she did not know who Natasha was talking about—she guessed that Alex had not heard of any of the Commanders, not even the Skye twins.

"Commander Skye?" Elias looked taken aback. "But High Commander Landon, she needs to stay in Celetsiakami. Just having _you_ away is a risk. To bring her here too—"

"Can tell us which Seraphina this is," Natasha interrupted in a harsh tone. "She may even be able to seal the connection again."

"What are you guys talking about?" Idolon risked talking, knowing that Alex would have spoken up sooner or later. She needed to keep them from bringing in the Commander of the Spies. She would only need one look at her before realizing who she was. She would then force her back and Alex forward, sealing the connection once again. Idolon could not let that happen. Time drew near, and she needed to move quickly.

"Before we resort to bringing in Commander Skye," Elias began, "let us try a trial. I seem to remember how the High Commander many years ago had figured out that Commanders Chandani Skye and Desdemona Skye had no ill intentions towards us when they first entered Celetsiakami."

Making sure to keep up the frightened-and-confused act, Idolon only relaxed slightly. She was glad that Chandani would not be brought into this, but she had no idea what kind of trial they were talking about. What would they do to her? She knew that they would not physically torment her, because that would mean hurting Alex, so it must have something to do with either the mind or spirit. Idolon could not risk them detecting the shift, but she did not know how to get out of it. Alex was still locked in the connection, unaware of what it was or how their minds connected—or even that they were two separate minds entirely.

Idolon quickly thought of how to use that to her advantage as Natasha spoke to Elias, her eyes never leaving the person before her. Being in Alex's mind and seeing all of her memories, Idolon may be able to shroud herself, briefly letting go of the connection she had with her own mind. It could be dangerous though, and Idolon had no idea what problems this could pose later on, but she had come too far to let go of everything she had already done. It was a risk she would need to take, but she grew fearful of forever being trapped within Alex's mind. There was no telling what that could cause.

Swallowing, Idolon felt the knife blade press against her throat for the briefest of moments. Elias was in the kitchen, gathering herbs, and Idolon grew nervous. She decided that letting go of the connection would be too hazardous. She thought quickly, deciding that this part of her plan would have to wait. Touching psychic, she contacted Yin, trying not to allow Natasha to see what it was she was doing.

Yin was upstairs, leaving the room where Juliette and Theresa were sleeping in. She seemed to be feeling weak again, once again losing control on her image—the real Joan must be waking up from that spell. She grew tired, and that was when Idolon knew that they needed to get out and quickly. She moved to Yin's consciousness.

"_We're leaving,"_ Idolon told her in a commanding tone.

Yin looked up in surprise, her pale blue-violet eyes once again beginning to turn cherry blossom pink. _"You found out where your soul has been hidden?"_

"_No, but Natasha is still suspicious. Have a portal open up down here."_ Idolon was sure she would be thrown into the dungeon upon entering Tartarus, but that was something she could get out of.

"_Yes, my Lady."_

Idolon let go of Yin's mind, coming back to the den just as a tear cut across the air, making Natasha suddenly turn in surprise, gaping at the bright, blue line no thicker than her forearm.

Taking this as her chance, Idolon sprang up, knocking down Natasha and taking the knife from her. She stabbed Natasha in the stomach, twisting the knife before diving towards the portal, Elias barging back into the room. He was abruptly thrown into the wall by an unseen force as Idolon grasped the edges of the portal, pulling it open.

Yin came running down the stairs, her hair and physique beginning to change as Jasmine came after her.

Taking a breath, Idolon dove into the portal, feeling sharp pain fire through her wing, back, and chest. Grabbing around her ribs as she fell, Idolon noticed a hole, but the blood had clotted. Natasha had hit her with lightning, and Idolon could no longer breathe. Natasha had hit her right lung and also left her unable to fly. She hit the ground hard, forced out of Alex's consciousness instantly.


	24. The Hermit

**Chapter 24: The Hermit**

"_The most important part of our freedom, inner freedom, is always subject to our will. If we surrender it to corruption, we do not deserve to be called human." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn_

The constant stream of questions was grating on Alex's nerves. Standing in front of the Soulstone, Alex had numerous questions and no satisfying answers. Satin hugged her waist, and Alex noticed that she was now wearing the dress she had been wearing in that dream with Atol. She smoothed over the skirt, finding yellow embroidery along the hem that hadn't been there before. She barely looked over the design, looking back at the Soulstone. Joan had asked Alex where her soul was. Atol had said that she did not have her soul. How could Idolon have one if they were the same person?

Looking around, Alex noticed that the sky was indigo, shining like a jewel secured within an air-tight a case.

Dark clouds gathered, trying to block out the color, and lightning danced among the wisps of darkness. The indigo came down just past the door, showing that the end of Idolon's mind. There had been no barrier like this in Alex's mind. The sky had seemed to go on forever. Here, there was some sort of wall that surrounded Idolon's mind. It shimmered as Alex ran from the Soulstone, holding up the skirt of her dress so she wouldn't trip. A bolt of energy shot through Alex's body when she pressed her hand against the cool, smooth surface of the glass dome. It knocked her onto the ground, and a scene flew before Alex's eyes:

The oval-shaped mirror was broken, having fallen off the wall and onto the cherry-wood horizontal dresser when Seraphina punched it with all her might. Most Unspeakables couldn't stand looking into a mirror, Seraphina especially. She had recently gotten a new room as a part of Set's inner circle, and Atol had placed a mirror above her dresser as a joke. He knew how much she hated looking into those things. It was like being constantly reminded of what it was she most lacked.

It was a reminder of what she could never have.

Broken glass littered the top of the dresser, but Seraphina brushed much of it aside, placing a golden ring on the wooden surface. The metal was flattened and thick, the entire thing having a diameter of five-and-a-half inches. There were four concave circles around a center plate hanging within the ring. The circles and plate looked to have once held precious jewels, and the center plate had a diameter of two-and-a-half inches, and each of the four circles had a diameter of one-and-three-fourths of an inch. There were three spaces between each of the four circles that looked to have held smaller jewels—an oval between two diamond-shapes in each section. The gold had been dull, but Seraphina worked to polish the smooth metal, wondering where she could hide it. Tomorrow would be her ceremony. She would hide it before then, but where?

There was a knock at the door, and Seraphina quickly stuffed the golden ring into one of the drawers, under her blouses. She opened the door with a snap of her fingers, flashing a sultry smile towards the blonde man sauntering towards her, his hair slicked back, showing his high forehead and bright eyes. Color touched his high cheekbones, and he showed his pearly teeth, red lips pulled into a smile.

There had been so much emotion in his autumn-colored eyes lately, and it both enchanted Seraphina and sent envy shooting through her very core. He was given back his soul so he could become immortal, and around that time, Atol had noted that passion had begun to rule her own eyes. She felt more connected to her emotions, even if it was hard to grasp onto anything on a deep note.

"Good evening, my love." Atol brought Seraphina close, kissing her fervently.

Her thin arms went behind his neck, holding him close, and his hands were over her wings at the small of her back. Their heartbeats became one as a surge of energy spread through the two of them. Atol's tongue ran over Seraphina's teeth, and she pulled him even closer, still very conscious of the distance between them—too conscious, and she wanted it closed.

"_My love," _a patronizing voice mocked brusquely. _"That's merely an emotion of weakness."_ The voice came from deep within Seraphina's mind, and she pushed it back, finally breaking away as she stared into those soft, golden eyes, batting her lashes. _"He's distracting you, Seraphina. Keep your mind on the task. He is a tool. Nothing else."_

Again, the voice was ignored as Seraphina asked, "'My love'? You are getting more liberal with where you say such things. You know what the others would say if they heard you utter such a word."

"Why must I follow their philosophies if I prefer my own?"

He leaned in for another kiss, but Seraphina twirled out of his grasp teasingly, going to lie on her bed in an inviting manner. Atol moved towards her but only sat on the foot of the narrow bed. He looked over Seraphina in her green, strapless top no wider than a scarf and a short, light brown skirt. She also wore a white cloak, but she began to unfasten it, her hair fanned out around her body.

He sighed mockingly, seeing the sparkle in her eyes. "Seraphina, what of your virtue?" he inquired jokingly.

"What virtue?" Seraphina gave a mock-pout. "Any 'virtue' I've had is long gone, but feel free to take any you have missed."

Seraphina came up onto her knees, and Atol pulled her close again, drawing his lips to hers. One of his hands went through her boundless hair, but he felt no pain from the tiny barbs that coated each strand. She was not as ardent to close the distance as before, knowing just why it was her lover was no longer such. He may feel that emotion, but he no longer pursued the physical act. In a page from his journals, Seraphina had seen that he didn't feel like he could do it now that he could feel everything and Seraphina next-to-nothing. He claimed to love her, but he worried of that never being returned.

Breaking away gently, Atol spoke quietly as their foreheads touched. "Has the Gem of Passage been found?"

Quiet at first, Seraphina breathed in deeply. Atol smelled of dogwood and milkweed. There was also the sharp, yet lovely, scent of a pine forest right after a downpour, and underneath it all was the quiet scent of roses that lifted Seraphina into euphoria.

Dogwood and milkweed were the smells of innocence Atol wished for Seraphina to have. It portrayed his gentle nature—his will to fight but silent wish for it to not be needed. The scent of roses contradicted this. Roses were cunning and cutthroat. Seemingly calm and pacifistic, he was a silent observer, learning weaknesses and how they can be best exploited. He knew where to push and how much force was needed. He attacked the mind, rather than the body, able to manipulate their thoughts in ways not even Seraphina could hope to match.

Coming out of the trance, Seraphina ran the question through her mind again. "Yes. A young girl on Gamma Terra. She lives in London, still living in fear of the memories of last year's 'Great Fire.' You are clear on our plan, yes?"

"_Finally." _The voice in Seraphina's mind sounded irritated.

"Of course," replied Atol, determination in his eyes. He wanted this. He was willing to do anything to get Seraphina her soul so they could finally become whole.

Such a fool.

"Good." Seraphina opened her eyes slightly. "Soon the Evils will be broken up, and you will not have to worry about your guilt any longer." Atol's eyes opened to stare into hers. "Then maybe I can finally get my soul and be able to feel what you feel." Seraphina made her words sound as sincere as she could, needing him to believe her. "I want to be able to say that word, Atol. This may be our only chance to break free."

"Whatever it takes," he agreed. He seemed to pour his heart into his next words. "I love you. Very much."

_I almost feel guilty,_ thought Seraphina in an amused tone as she smiled lightly. _But I'll get over it, I'm sure._

Giving another scoff, the voice chimed in, _"Just remember to let the Notte take the girl in London. Do not kill her. She may be able to lead us to Raffaele Gismondi at some point. Also make sure to let the other Notte take the Gem. They will come in handy, whether they know it or not. And hide the mantle in the heart of the tree with the silver trunk on Nyneve's island. Go there before returning to Tartarus. We only have three-hundred-forty-eight years to find all of the shards."_

**xxx**

Pushing herself up onto her feet, Alex was surprised to find that she did not feel disoriented like she had with the other memories. She was just let go from the past and allowed back into the present. That voice had been Idolon—the one in Alex's mind. It was her mind that Alex was now in. They shared many memories, much of which Alex did not yet recall. Yet, she felt that there were memories of Idolon that Alex had never witnessed. The Seraphina in the memory was Alex all those years ago—another life. So what was this Idolon now?

Deeply perplexed, Alex watched the ominous clouds thoughtfully as crimson and cerulean strikes of lightning flew from one cloud to another, looking almost as if they were playing tag. The hairs on Alex's arms began to stand on end, and she scurried back into the black room, pulling the door shut as she did so. She wanted to get back into her own mind. She still had no idea what was going on with the whole Idolon situation, but she now knew that she was not what she had been told she was. Had they lied to her? Or had _they_ been lied to?

Walking over to the door that led into her own mind, Alex tried to focus. She could feel Idolon's grip begin to lessen. The inky walls became a dark shade of grey, and it was easier for Alex to find the door. She pushed it open, hearing Idolon's voice in the distance. She sounded troubled—worried. Sitting down in the tall grass, Alex merely listened, her eyes narrowed as the sun bathed her in golden light. A light breeze danced through the trees that dotted the valley, and the perfume of the many flowers wafted into Alex's nostrils, calming her.

Idolon was talking about letting go of the connection, but then argued with herself that it would be too dangerous. Alex also barely heard Natasha's voice in the distance. Alex could now hear out of her ears, but she had to close her eyes and really listen. There was still no control. She was merely a silent observer, unable to do anything with the body that was once hers and hers alone.

"… to work, you'll need to gather marjoram, a bit of mandrake root, mint, nettle, fennel, foxglove, celery, and yarrow. You'll find celery in the fridge, marjoram and mint in the spice cabinet, and the rest on the bottom shelf of the pantry. Careful with the mandrake root and foxglove." Natasha spoke low but quick, venom dripping from her voice.

Focusing on seeing what Idolon saw, Alex was suddenly staring into Natasha's eyes, which were filled with such hatred, a chill passed through her. Natasha's glare was like a cluster of swords crafted from ice shoved into her flesh. It seemed to have an effect on Idolon, though she did not show it.

"Yes, High Commander Landon." Elias went into the kitchen, first retrieving a mortar and pestle made of glass. Alex slid away from the vision and hearing, standing up in the grass.

The breeze picked up strands of Alex's hair as if examining them, and she turned slowly to where the door was.

Unlike in Idolon's mind, there was no wall that signaled the end of the mind's expanse. She saw more mountains what looked to be miles away, connected to the rest of the mountains that guarded the field. The sky went on forever, though, defying all logic and making Alex dizzy.

She looked at the grass, seeing how there were dead patches and wilted flowers around where the room should be if this place made any sense, and it was even worse where Alex's mind should have ended and Idolon's begin. Yet, as Alex stared, she could see the plants begin to heal and come back to life. It was a slow process, but it was a process all the same. Carefully, Alex walked towards the brown and rot, green beginning to sprout where her bare feet had touched the ground.

"If I see a white rabbit," Alex muttered, "I swear I'm going to scream."

She shuffled towards the mountains, finding two columns of an ionic design on either side of a golden hourglass that was taller than she was. The hourglass had large, red-violet wings, and a bright green vine wound around one of the golden poles. Following the vine with her eye, Alex saw that it led to a huge, purple lotus blossom, which had more vines coming out of it, leading to different areas of the field and other enormous flowers, such as water lilies, irises, passion flowers, and aquilegias.

They were all over the place, mainly in the dead part of the field, their vines reaching out over everything, even over the mountains. A couple of the vines went into the stream and the branches, and Alex also saw a large, long chain. She followed it with her eyes, seeing that one end of the chain attached to the back pole on the hourglass, right beneath the wings.

Sighing, Alex followed the chain, winding around the giant flowers with the vines and crossing the stream, the water cool on her skin. The fabric of her dress dried almost instantly when she got out of the stream, the air warm but not blistering—humid, but not sticky. The place continued to defy logic, and Alex noticed that the giant flowers were healing the land. Around them, the dirt became more fertile, and the grass and blossoms grew, stretching out. The process became faster as Alex passed by, the petals of the healing blooms shimmering as if grateful at her presence.

She continued to follow the chain, which led to some sort of shrine. The chain ended at a large, golden disk with rays that looked to be crafted of carnelian, making it resemble the sun. On the left, right, and top of the sun looked to be crescent moons, the tips pointed outwards. The moons looked to be carved from amethyst. Finally, in the center of the sun was an eight-pointed star that looked to be made of lapis lazuli. It sat propped up on an ivory table with two, crimson columns on either side of the table, connected at the top by an identically-colored board and black roof that gave shade to the item. What looked to be crimson horns stuck out on either side of the roof, and on the board was a word written in golden letters: AVALON.

"This is the crest of Avalon," Alex realized.

She looked at the item, taking a cautious step forward and running a hand over the gold. It gleamed at her touch, and Alex allowed a smile. It felt right on her face, and Alex felt safe again. She knelt at the ivory table, looking over at the intricate designs that seemed to tell a story.

There were two small doors, and Alex opened them, finding a sheathed jian sword inside. The sheath was bejeweled lightly, and a red jade sphere marked the head of the sword, the crest of Avalon etched into it. Unsheathing the weapon, Alex saw that the sword was light and comfortable in her grip, the blade clear. It was diamond, and the guard was copper with a yin-yang symbol etched into it on both sides. The hilt had been wrapped with russet leather. It was the same color of the sheath, which had a golden band studded with black pearls. There was a tree agate sphere at the tip of the sheath, and thick straps hung down from over the golden band. Alex re-sheathed the sword, cradling it in her arms.

The entire place seemed to shift angrily, and Alex held onto her sword more tightly, staring as an ice blue light was shot from beyond the mountains and through the door. Gripping the sword, Alex sprinted towards the door, finding an unconscious Idolon slumped over the other door. Alex closed her door, and the red jade began to glow brightly, making Alex shut her eyes. The door was sealed, leaving only a vague outline in the air. Sinking to the ground, Alex began to feel tired, pain racking through her right wing and chest. Her head hurt terribly, and she brought the sword to her, lying on one side as she gritted her teeth.

_What's going on?!_ Alex demanded as the sword glowed white, giving off heat for a few seconds.

Once the light cleared, Alex cracked open one eye, finding a copper hairclip in her hand. Absentmindedly, she put it in her hair, shuddering with pain. She gasped for breath, hugging around her chest. Clouds gathered around the sun, leaving her in shadows. So many voices raged around Alex, and she began to fade into an ice blue light, fading into the air and land beyond the mountains.

**xxx**

"… it been?" The voice belonged to a woman. She had been talking for a while, but those words were the first Alex was able to decipher and understand in her still-groggy mind. The woman sounded impatient and had what sounded like a New England accent. She was nearby, moving something over a table or some other wooden surface.

"Over a fortnight." That was Atol's voice. "You must be patient. She nearly died. I had to practically rebuild half of her lung, fix her ribs, and regenerate the skin and help the feathers on her wing grow back. Luckily, the lightning clotted her blood, so she didn't need a transfusion." His voice had a hallow tone, but there was the lightest touch of annoyance.

Alex's brow wrinkled at his voice, and she heard Atol get up from where he was. She vaguely heard the woman whisper words in a language Alex roughly recognized but did not know—it sounded a little like Spanish to Alex, though the accent and flow of the words was much different.

The woman sounded to be in awe, and Alex opened her eyes a crack, greeted by a bright light Atol shone into each eye. Alex knocked the light pen away, whining, "What are you trying to do? Blind me?" She rolled to one side and sat up, instantly regretting the action. She bent forward and grasped around her ribs, finding gauze there. She was only wearing a bra, and Alex felt self-conscious all of a sudden.

Not noticing this, Atol bent down to her eye-level, carefully straightening her up. "Careful, Seraphina. You are still tender and have a while until you are well. You also will not be able to fly for some time."

He took her right wing gingerly, stretching it out. This caused Alex to grunt in pain, but she stayed still as the woman came around into her line of vision, those large, cherry blossom eyes very familiar. Silver-blonde hair with a hint of pink fell to her hips, fringe bangs covering her eyebrows.

"I can't put my finger on it, but she seems different now than in Boston." She barely moved her scarlet lips as she spoke, but Alex caught the flash of pearly fangs.

That was when she finally remembered those eyes—Joan back at the townhouse when she attacked Alex. This woman had been masquerading as Joan! But for how long?

The woman gave a half-smile. "Well, aren't you going to say 'Hello' to your old friend?"

Atol made a comment before Alex could even think about responding: "You're more of a parasite than a friend, Yin. Besides, after what you've done, I'm sure she'll kill you as soon as she's healed. She may not even wait _that_ long."

Yin muttered something else in that language she had spoken earlier. "You don't have to worry. I'll keep the secret for now, but if Hel takes away my status, you're _dead_."

Letting go of Alex's wing, Atol stood back up and helped Alex onto her feet. "Okay, your balance seems alright. Walk to the dresser and back, please." Alex got up but just fell back down, her legs weak. "That is to be expected, but we will keep working. Yin, leave us. I need to finish the records, and you should go back and search for Seraphina's soul."

Alarm shot through Alex, but she fought to keep it from showing. She did not want that blood-sucker anywhere near her soul. Yin only rolled her eyes as she left the room, and Atol sighed as he went to sit in a chair at a mahogany desk. Alex tried to stand again, her hand pushing against the bed to give her a bit of balance. She only fell again and pain shot through her upper body, and she smoothed her hair as she sighed, finding a hairclip. Smiling to herself, Alex's eyes flickered over towards Atol, watching as he scribbled something on a sheet of paper in silence.

Thinking of a way out, Alex tried to decide on the best way to get rid of the person keeping her here. Unfortunately, she was in no condition for a fight. She did not trust him, and she already knew he no longer trusted her. Yet, they were stuck together at that moment, and Alex needed to get better before she could even think about escaping.

Taking deep breaths, Alex felt pain inside her chest on the right side. She breathed again, trying to strengthen the lung. It was odd, feeling like her right lung didn't fill with as much air as the left.

She stood at the desk shoved against the wall in front of her, watching Atol as he wrote.

Finally, Alex spoke. "So what's going to happen to me?"

It hurt to speak, and she could only sit up straight, her back straining when she leaned forward and her chest throbbing when she leaned back.

Putting down his fountain pen, Atol turned in his chair to face Alex. "Here, you are a fugitive. I do not know what Yin was thinking by making that portal lead to here, but as far as Set knows, you are still on Gamma Terra—Milky Way Earth. As soon as you heal, I am sending you to where your 'brothers' are."

He turned back around and continued to write.


	25. Page of Wands

**Chapter 25: Page of Wands**

"_Command is a matter of wisdom, integrity, humanity, courage, and discipline." - from The Art of Warfare_

"Ow!" Harper sat up instantly, her eyes meeting Alex's as she gave her a death glare, her lips pressed together. The five-year-old brunette looked scared for about a second, most likely in full knowledge of the dark-eyed girl's reputation on the playground—she even made Kevin Singer cry. However, she tried to look tough. "What'd you hit me for?!"

Taken aback by the attitude, Alex blinked, but she did not falter in the look she gave to that girl she had been forced to be with in the empty room for nap time. "You were snoring. I. Can't. Sleep."

To really frighten this new girl, Alex leaned in to where their faces were barely an inch apart. Her eyes narrowed, but she did not blink. Alex always won staring contests. To her, it was a way to show everyone that she was in charge. With this girl, though, she seemed to be the outsider challenging her dominance. She glared back, her light brown eyes widened so they were big and round. It was sort of creepy, but there was no way Alex would back down to anyone. She stood up, the other girl following suit.

Upon seeing her clothes, Alex realized that this was the weird girl that always had plants, construction paper, art supplies, or even food made into clothing. She looked to be wearing finger paintings today, only bits of white fabric shining through the construction paper and paint. Strips of red construction paper were tied to the bands that kept her hair in the two ponytails thrown over her shoulders, the tips brushing her upper arms. Alex's hair was just as long, but it was pulled back into a low ponytail for naptime. Alex had her hands on her hips, and Harper returned the gesture.

"Then get earplugs." Harper's voice faltered, but it was only slight.

"I will," Alex responded without skipping a beat, "and I'll shove 'em up your nose!"

Harper looked to be backing down, and Alex gave a smirk. She stared the girl down, and Harper finally blinked, getting on her knees. Laughing, Alex closed her eyes, turning as the blanket she stood on was suddenly ripped from right under her feet. Her laugh quickly turned into a scream as she hit the ground, Harper laughing as she held onto Alex's blue and white blanket. She rolled on her back as she laughed, crinkling the paper that made up her dress.

Alex then pounced on Harper, trying to get her blanket back. The two girls screamed as they rolled around, trying to pin the other to the ground. The screams soon turned to squeals of joy, and once they hit the back wall, the two girls sat up, laughing as hard as they could. That was when Mrs. Stacks and Mrs. Moore burst into the room, dragging the two girls back to where their blankets were.

"We put you here for naptime, not playtime," scolded Mrs. Stacks.

She was Harper's teacher and held her right arm as she took her over to her blanket. The middle-aged woman's steely eyes were tired behind her wire-rimmed glasses, and a few lines already marked her pasty skin.

Mrs. Moore took Alex's blanket from Harper and gave it back to Alex. "Now get to sleep you two. There's still five minutes left of naptime, and you two are going to have to be able to behave while here every day, alright?" Mrs. Moore used a kinder voice, watching Alex with her warm, brown eyes as she smoothed Alex's blanket over the floor. "Neither of you want to be kept inside when everyone else is out on the playground, right?"

Both girls shook their heads and lay down obediently. Mrs. Moore smiled as Mrs. Stacks nodded curtly. The two women then left, and Alex and Harper began to giggle uncontrollably, using their hands to muffle the sound. Harper scooted towards Alex, who got closer as well.

"Does Mrs. Stacks always have her hair in a bun?" Alex managed through her giggles.

"Uh-huh," Harper replied, still covering her mouth. "It looks like she got most of the paint out of it though. My friend, Nellie, threw paint in her head, trying to hit Stacy."

Once they stopped laughing, Alex sat back up and held out a hand. "I'm Alex."

Smiling, Harper took her hand tightly. "Harper."

"Wanna be friends?" It was a prospect Alex hadn't really thought over a whole lot. Sure, there were other kids she had a fun time with, but it was mostly teasing them or pulling pranks on them.

There hadn't really been anyone who really stood up to Alex. A few had tried, but not like Harper did. Even her boyfriend, Kevin, was a wuss, and then he went and started chasing after another girl! And Alex had already written **Property of Alex Russo** on his arm! It'd be nice to be friends with someone like Harper.

Harper looked excited, her smile going from ear to ear. "Yeah!"

**xxx**

Alex awoke to the **scratch, scratch** of Atol's fountain pen, her eyes fluttering open. Over the past three weeks, Alex's mind had been filled with memories of her family. She was not surprised that her latest dream was of the beginning of her friendship with Harper.

There had been very little, if any, human contact as Alex stayed in that small room, following the routine of sleeping, eating, physical therapy, washing, and meditating. Alex never had the patience for meditation, but it was either that or just sit there and watch Atol as he wrote notes down in a script Alex did not recognize. It looked like random lines, squiggles, and dots to her. Alex had given up on trying to read it.

Through meditation, she had been able to drift back into that valley that filled her with such relief as she bathed in the warmth of the sun or flew in the light of the constantly-full moon. Also in her mind, Alex practiced working with her jian sword, trying out different moves she had seen in movies before realizing that they were much harder than they had looked. Luckily, this was just her mind, so she would heal immediately after impaling herself or cutting up her arms, waist, or legs.

Using both hands to grasp the hilt, she would work through her swings in slow motion, stepping through as she would swing it over her head, curving her body slightly and pretending to behead an enemy coming after her or lunging forward, pretending to stab someone in the heart. Alex would try out different moves that felt right before sheathing her sword and taking off for flight.

Because she was stuck in that small room, it was only in her mind that Alex was able to fly, stretching out her wings and no longer feeling the pain that plagued her physical body. The pain had lessened over the weeks, but it was still there, and Alex enjoyed going into the deep realms of her mind to escape it. In that valley, she would fly over to the healing areas, helping to speed up the process.

An hour or more would pass before Alex would open her eyes to find herself sitting on Atol's bed, legs crossed, wings folded against her back, and sword still disguised as a clip in her hair. She would be pulled back into reality, thinking how she could get out of Tartarus. Alex did not know how to create a portal. Was it like everything else and she just has to picture it? Or was Yin just special?

Was there some sort of doorway that Atol planned to lead her through once she was fully healed? Would he keep his word? Alex had betrayed him in her last life. Why would he want to help her? There was no motive—at least none that satisfied Alex. She did not believe he would merely do this because he still planned to repent for all he had done. There had to be more—if he really _was_ intent on helping Alex get to her brothers.

Lying on her side under the burgundy blankets, Alex had one arm under the pillow, her eyes unblinking as she stared at Atol. He was always unreadable, refusing to speak to Alex when he was able to. Based on what Yin had said to him the first day when Alex awoke, it was clear that this had been Atol's idea, but Yin's own motives were unknown to Alex.

As far as she knew, that strix (that is what Atol had called her species) had no intent on ever repenting. She enjoyed her immortality as a part of the Thres Armani, so Alex had to wonder why she would help Alex escape. Did _she_ know Alex was going to go back to her brothers? Or did she think she was searching for Alex's soul so she could finally deliver it to Set and keep Alex in Tartarus forever? Was that Atol's true intention? He did not seem like one to go back on his word, but he had to be lying to one of the girls. It seemed more plausible that he would lie to Alex.

An eye for an eye; a betrayal for a betrayal.

"What are you writing?" Alex finally could not stand the silence any longer.

She was in her memories again, seeing Harper writing vigorously in her journal as Alex watched through a crack in the door. Harper probably hadn't known Alex was there, and Alex had wondered what Harper wrote about. It was several minutes later that Alex had found out Harper kept a journal.

Did Atol keep one? It had always seemed more like a girl thing to Alex, but she guessed there were guys who kept journals. She vaguely remembered hearing one of her teachers say that in some communities in the past, it had actually been expected for everyone to keep one.

With a small sigh, Atol replied, "When living for as long as we do, memories must be written down. They will only crowd the mind and slow us down otherwise."

Bluntly, Alex thought, _It's a diary._

She could never get Atol to give her a straight answer, and he usually spoke to her with vexation. This made Alex question his intentions even more, and she finally decided that she was going to escape on her own. She vaguely remembered the map from her memory when she had that meeting with Ivan. Over the past few days when Alex meditated, she tried to picture that map, trying to locate the gate that would get her into Mzrisknu.

Because Atol was being punished, Alex guessed that he was forced to live in the outer lands that were in a far corner of the realm. The gates were at the center of Tartarus, smack-dab in the middle of the four realms.

That was around one-thousand-five-hundred-ninety xhieks, according to the map. Alex did not know how long that was in relation to feet or miles, but she was sure that it was far. How was she supposed to get there? Getting out of the room would be the easiest part. She was well enough to fight, and the physical therapy involved conditional exercises that had toned her muscles. If she could surprise Atol with an attack, it could buy her just enough time to get out of the room.

That would leave the one-thousand-five-hundred-ninety xhieks she would have to fly. Alex was not sure how fast she could go.

Would she be fast enough? What about shape-shifting into an animal? There were animals in Lietmat, right? She could transform into a cheetah. They could run up to seventy-miles-per-hour.

Alex then remembered the fight back at the forest. Cheetahs tired out quickly. She could transform into air or mist. Maybe she could even use that transformation spell she'd seen with some of the others like Acelin and Sakura. She would just have to picture where it is she wants to go, right? It sounded too easy, and Alex didn't want to risk it. She had to, though, so she studied the map, hoping that if she could picture the exact spot she wanted to be, the spell would work. The map was well-detailed, so it had to work. That only left one more problem: the spell probably used a great amount of energy; otherwise, just anyone could do it whenever they wanted.

Alex would need to keep up her strength to pull off this spell.

"Excuse me," she said, "but I'm getting hungry."

Because she could not leave the room, it was Atol who went out and got her food and water. Alex had been craving a soda, but she had stuck with the water.

Putting down his pen, Atol pushed himself away from the desk. "Alright. I'll be back soon."

He didn't remind Alex to stay in the room anymore, and he never asked what she wanted to eat. She never minded, though some of the food _was_ questionable. She had been starving the first week, seeing as all of her nourishment came from injections when she was unconscious, and she was only allowed a little food, the portions gradually getting bigger so she could get used to eating normally again.

The door barely made a sound as it closed, and Alex threw off the blankets, revealing her body clad in only a bra and underwear. Atol had not brought her any new clothes, so Alex would have to wash the ones she had every few days. Yin had left her a bra and a couple pairs of undergarments, but she normally wore her own clothes. They were strewn over the sink and walls of the shower chamber, mostly dry. The tiny restroom only had a sink and shower, the toilet in a separate room, the door closed and next to the narrow shower chamber, tossing the drying clothes onto the stone floor. Alex stripped down, but she dared not remove her hair clip. She kept it in at all times, only occasionally making sure that it was secure.

Humming to herself, Alex just wet her hair and scrubbed her body before rinsing off and exiting, drying off quickly. Her clothes were still not dry all the way, but it was better than nothing, so she put them on, feeling better that she wasn't so exposed. Alex always felt uncomfortable being around Atol when she was half-naked, her heart thudding and cheeks burning.

She couldn't see how he could be so calm around her, as if it were nothing. She was just glad he never made a move to even _sit_ on the bed while she was in it. He slept on the floor with the extra pillow and blanket that were in the bottom drawer of his chestnut dresser. The blanket was folded against the wall behind his desk chair, pillow on top of it. Alex looked over at it before she made her way to his desk. She had taken to going through his things during the few times of the day when she was left alone, trying to get a grasp on his character.

Unfortunately, none of the papers held writing Alex could recognize. There were a few basic sketches that had decent proportion, though it wasn't the best. Still, Alex could tell what the sketches were, and that was more than what she could say for many other drawings she'd seen over the years. The sketches had a bit of shading with the pen that was stylized, and Alex found a picture of her in one of the more recent entries. It was just a head-shot, ending at her shoulders, and her eyes were a little too large in the picture. It was a very common mistake—Alex's earlier pictures from when she was in elementary school held people with large eyes that were almost anime-like.

Sighing, Alex went back to the bed and sat down. There was no real reason for her to search through Atol's things. She was just bored, and it was just something that could get her out of the monotony that made her feel so anxious and claustrophobic. Alas, it had eventually become part of the routine.

There was no excitement. Even the jolt of adrenaline she got whenever there was movement outside the door had stopped after the first week. Atol was an outcast. No one came to visit him. They kept their distance from the traitor. That meant Alex was mostly safe, though she still wondered how long it would take Set to find her again. It had taken him around sixteen years to find her in New York City. It shouldn't take _nearly_ as long to find her when she was so close.

Atol had assured that false trails were made to divert Set's attention, but Alex still didn't trust him. Set was just waiting until Alex got stronger. This was a game. If he was so powerful, then he would have caught her already if he was serious about it. Alex didn't want to play this game anymore, but it was either win or die now. Alex had always hated to lose, but there were just as many costs to winning as there were to losing.

"Here's the food." Atol entered and placed a cloth bag onto the dresser before going into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Getting up, Alex got the four boxes, pushing three against the wall in front of her as she opened the one on top. This box included three large rice balls, what looked like spinach with sesame seeds, some sort of purple-tinted meat with onion, raw meat from oysters, and something that looked like the oysters but cooked and green with some sort of brown-red sauce drizzled over them.

Alex saved the oysters for later, deciding she would only eat them if she was still hungry. The spinach was first so that the other foods could get rid of the taste, and she ate the rice balls quickly, even though she normally did not have a taste for fish, which was inside. She had tried to tell Atol before what she preferred to eat, but he didn't really seem to care, just bringing her what he was able to get after eating his own meal.

After eating all the food brought for her, Alex took a few breaths and went back to the bed to sit for a little while. Her eyes flickered towards the bathroom door as she reached for her hairclip. He would never suspect it. Alex would make it quick. She had thought about only wounding him, but he would be able to call for help. Still, Alex did not like the prospect of killing him. Maybe she wouldn't have to. She would just jump him and bang his head on the edge of the sink, knocking him unconscious.

Either way, she couldn't hesitate. Alex needed to get ahead in this sick game. There were only two ways to get around her prison warden. No doubt he would sound the alarm if she just escaped now. He either needed to be dead or unconscious long enough for Alex to get to Wiztech. Atol had told her before that she and he were bound by spirit. If Atol died, he would just be revived due to the bit of his aura mixed in with Alex's. How long until that would happen? Their connection was weak due to the fact neither one had a soul. If the trend kept up, that meant it would be a while before he came back to life. He would be dead long enough for the escape.

The smell of burning flesh filled Alex's nose as she remembered that krikol.

She couldn't kill. Not even Atol.

He was more human than the krikol had been. No matter his intentions towards her, it was still all speculation. What if he really _was_ trying to help her? Then Alex would have killed an innocent. That was different than killing a monster or killing in self-defense. Alex wasn't sure if she could do it.

_Stop,_ she said to herself. _He wouldn't help you unless there's something in it for him. He has no conscience, remember? There's no reason for him to just help. There's something else. You need to get out before you find out what that 'something else' is._

Taking in a deep breath, Alex nodded, only half-believing herself. With a sigh, she placed the hairclip back in her hair, securing it to her dark locks and keeping them from falling over her right eye. She would just knock him unconscious. Alex had gotten stronger over the weeks, and she had surprise on her side. She just couldn't hesitate. She had to go through with it.

_Just do it. You'll be another step closer to getting out of this hellhole._

Swallowing, a subtle taste of the meat lingered as Alex went over to the door to the bathroom, ready to jump Atol as soon as the door opened. Stance firm but light, Alex poised herself for attack. Forcing herself to breathe steady, she waited, brow furrowed as her eyes narrowed into slits. She had one shot. The water shut off, and Alex's heart skipped a beat.

_No turning back,_ she thought, lips forming a straight line.

Within minutes, Atol opened the door, steam rolling out into the cool air. Immediately, Alex slammed herself into him, her shoulder ramming against the edge of the door, pain shooting down her arm. She ignored it, left arm around Atol's neck as her right hand pressed against his forehead. He had no chance to fight back before Alex slammed his head against the edge of the sink with as much might as she dared, light flickering out of his closing eyes as he slumped onto the floor.

Without taking any time to assess what she had done, Alex closed her eyes and pictured the map, pinpointing onto one of the gates in the center of Tartarus. Humming, she braced herself for a sudden loss of energy as her magic tapped into the tiny rips scattered about within space, sending her to the portal.


	26. The Star

**Chapter 26: The Star**

"_I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three." - Author Unknown_

Appearing before an arch with a wooden, mahogany door, Alex nearly collapsed, her hand pressing against the smooth wood of the door. Blinking away the black dots that began to crowd about her vision, she realized that Tartarus did not have a sun. Light came from a smear of hot gas and dust that stretched across the realm like a river, though the light was dim.

There was no one around her, and she stood on grey rock that was high above the rest of Tartarus like a platform. Gasping for breath, Alex grabbed around her stomach, which was empty once again. Her throat burned for water, and it felt as if weights had been tied to her arms, legs, and wings. Pulling the little strength she had left, Alex pushed her body against the door as she turned the bronze handle, tumbling into a mixture of darkness and light that forced her to close her eyes.

There was a pull on her body as she was shot forward like an arrow, the door slamming shut behind her. She kept her appendages close to her body, worried that if she didn't, she may end up losing one. Tears were forced from her eyes, and a high-pitched ringing filled her ears. Teeth clenched, Alex endured it without a word, trying her hardest to picture Professor Crumb's office. She hoped that by picturing it, she would end up there and not some random spot in space.

The ringing increased, and it felt as if the force pushing against her from the breakneck speed was trying to pull her skin off. Tight, it felt like her skin was a size too small and stretched to fit over her muscles and bones. From behind her eyelids, the violet light coming out of the black began to turn red as the black slowly disappeared, allowing the red to grow.

The force then began to lessen as she slowed down, her body beginning to move upright. This was when Alex dared to crack open one eye, but the sudden, blinding white light forced it shut again as she abruptly came to a stop, stumbling over carpet before her chin scraped against hard stone, her arms coming forward too late to break her fall. Pain shot through her ribs and neck, traveling down her spine.

_Damn._ With a grunt, Alex pushed herself up, feeling two cool hands help her up. She heard the person speak, but could not understand the words. It was a man, but it did not sound like Professor Crumbs.

_That's right_, she realized. _Toris mentioned someone else being the Head Master while the mages were here. Head Master… Dupont. Yeah, that's it._

Alex opened her eyes as she got onto her feet, feeling the sting of an open wound on her chin.

_Great…_ She stretched out the word in her mind. She wiped the blood away and then wiped her hand on her pants.

Head Master Dupont looked to maybe in his late fifties or early sixties, his thinning hair more grey than brown. His hooded eyes were hidden behind wire-rimmed glasses but were still sharp, the bright green without any trace of blue to smooth the color. Worry lines marked his high forehead, and his skin had an alabaster complexion.

He sat Alex down in a leather chair in front of his large desk, and he leaned against the dark wood, his feet showing from beneath his dark robes. He began to speak to Alex again, and she realized that he was speaking French. That was when she noticed that his ears were leaf-like like Acelin's. Swallowing, Alex dug deep into her mind, hoping that, somewhere, she knew the language. She had already learned she knew Spanish (she wished she could have remembered that back in school, though), German, and Latin.

Maybe she knew French too? Going though her memories, she saw Head Master Dupont grow worried, but she finally found what she was looking for. She knew French!

"Where did you transport from, and what is your name?" This was what Head Master Dupont had asked.

_Crap. Where do I tell him I'm from? Uh, I'll just say Earth. I don't look anything like a Magician, so he'll probably just think I was in some village like where Natasha was from._ "I'm from Milky Way Earth, and my name is…" _Crap! What if my brothers were given fake names? They had to be disguised as pureblood Wizards, right? So what if they were given fake names? Well, I don't really look like their sister anyway, so… What's a French-sounding name?_ "Claire Leblanc."

Alex prayed he didn't notice her hesitation.

Luckily, he probably thought Alex's slow thinking was due to the horrible landing that rattled her brain. "Oh, that's far. The trip must have taken much out of you. I'm afraid I can't enroll you, but you are allowed to stay for the time being while you rest—"

"I was supposed to be enrolled weeks ago," interjected Alex, swallowing again. Her mouth was dry, and her throat screamed for water, which showed in her voice. "Joseph Aguilar and Taras Solovyov had me enrolled along with three other students." Alex wasn't about to say the names of her brothers and Juliette in fear that their names had been changed, and that Head Master Dupont was unaware of their reasons for coming to this school.

That thought changed when his eyes widened, his glasses slipping down his hawk like nose ever so slightly. He darted to get behind his desk, taking out a key from around his neck. He opened a drawer, taking out burgundy folders full of documents. He chose a folder in the middle and opened it. "You are Alexandra Margarita Russo? Sister to Justin Vincenze Pepe Russo and Maximillian Justin Russo?" He kept speaking in French, which Alex knew to be called Wizarn among mages.

Taken aback, Alex managed a nod, her brow wrinkling in confusion. "How…?"

"There has been a search for you after High Commander Landon called in to the Commander of Medicine to report her wounds and the Commander of Protectors to report your disappearance. She also ordered the Commander of Spies to have her people currently in Tartarus to search for you. High Commander Landon guessed that you would try to come to Wiztech to see your brothers." His tone was matter-of-fact, and his thin lips curved into a smile, deepening his wrinkles. "My name is Emmanuel Dupont. You have probably guessed by now that I am a scout of the Purities. Your name had been erased from the list when you disappeared, but that can be quickly changed. You can keep the name Claire Leblanc, but your brothers are Juste and Marcel Rousseau. Juliette van Heusen is now Jacquenette Chevalier."

Emmanuel began to type something into his computer, and in only a minute, a schedule was printed out and handed to Alex. It was a period schedule, but it alternated with the days. She had four classes each day. The schedule was labeled **Blue Days** and **White Days**. "Uh… I've been gone for a while. What day is today, and what time is it?" Alex's stomach growled; she bit her bottom lip. She hoped it wasn't far from meal time, and Emmanuel gave a slight chuckle.

"Today is Kayakon, the second day of the week and a white day. It is nearly time for lunch, so you will go there first." Emmanuel reached into a different drawer. "Here is a map of the school."

Alex took it from his extended hand.

"I will have your uniform delivered to your dorm room, which is stated at the top of your schedule. After lunch, you will attend the rest of your third class. Lunch period is split into two groups, and you are in the second group. You have been placed into all the same classes as your brothers and Juliette. Ages have been fudged so that you all could stay together. Your brothers have been given ear-pieces and specialized microphones that stick to the inside of their bottom incisors so they can speak and understand Wizarn. It seems that you do not need this technology, however, so yours will be sent back to the Commander of Technology."

"Will I be given enough food?" Alex knew she ate much more than the Wizards did, and she felt as if she could eat a barn full of cows and drink all their milk to boot.

"I will alert the cooks that we have a Nymph attending the school. There is also a Sprite, so they know about how much to make. Now, I must warn you that this is a part of the nation rich in tradition, which includes the unfortunate belief that Wizards are superior—especially purebloods. The others will give you and Juliette a hard time, you in particular. This is because not only are you not a Wizard—"

"But I'm a mixed-blood." Alex knew she couldn't exactly be disguised like Justin or Max. Their ears would only have to be changed to look leaf-like as the Wizards' did.

On the other hand, Alex had wings like that of a Nymph, ears like that of an Elf, teeth like that of a Troll, and her small feet were like those of a Sprite. Alex did not like the prospect of being teased and roughed up. She could fight back, but she needed to remain inconspicuous for the time being. That mission would be tough enough as is. She could end up blowing it by sending the bullies to the infirmary.

"I'll be alright." She wasn't sure about this, but she would try. She'd always heard that those who got teased just tried to ignore it. Alex wasn't sure if she could do this, but she could try.

Nodding, Emmanuel smiled. "Good. There are some teachers who will try to look out for you. You may even recognize a few, like your Magician literature teacher."

Blinking, Alex looked down at Magician literature, which was a white day class. The teacher was Professor Crumbs. "Huh?" She looked up.

"He may be the head master while Magician-mixes are here, but he usually teaches Magician literature, and he also has a degree in Magician history—Milky Way and Starburst galaxies. You may leave, Miss Leblanc. You are now in the system, and judging by your stomach, I'm guessing you're ready for lunch. Go ahead. You can remain in the clothes you are wearing now until after your classes. You are rooming with Juliette."

At the last sentence, Alex's smile fell, but she tried to cover it up as she nodded a thanks and left. The prospect of rooming with the Notte that bit her on the shoulder only a few weeks ago did not sit right with her. Absent-mindedly, she touched the now-white scars as she left the office, looking at the map as she headed down a spiral staircase. She loved the castle-feel to the school, and she was pretty sure royalty had wandered through these halls before it was renovated as a school. Looking at her schedule, Alex looked at her classes for white day.

Trigonometry – Professor Martin – M-5  
Magic Theory II – Professor Fritzroy – SS-2  
Magician literature – Professor Crumbs – L-6  
Casting II – Professor Moreau – 200

Looking at the map again, Alex went down the correct corridors, making her way to the dining hall, which was huge and full of ten long tables that could seat around forty people each. Alex was the first one there, a bell sounding soon after. Alex made her way to a door where she was to retrieve her food before the storm of students could rush in, a woman with her red curls pulled back into a ponytail smiling at her.

"You must be the new student Head Master Dupont informed us of just a moment ago. Just one moment." She went to the back, returning with a tray piled with enough food to make everyone else look anorexic.

Carefully, Alex took the tray as she gave her own small smile, nodding thanks as others began to walk into the serving hall, the first few stopping to gaze at Alex with surprise and curiosity.

Instead of the robes and glasses Alex was used to, the uniforms were made up of blue slacks for boys and skirts for girls, white button-up shirts, light blue blazers, and skinny, black ties. The girls wore white knee-highs and black flats, and the boys' shoes were polished, clothes looking as if they had recently been ironed. A black, white, and blue crest was on the left breast of each blazer, showing a blue shield outlined in black with a white phoenix in front of it.

The person in front was a boy with turquoise eyes hidden behind glasses, a hawk like nose, and dirty blonde hair that was a bit long, swept over to touch his left eye. Behind him looked to be his sister, her dirty-blonde hair draped around her shoulders. She glared at Alex, who quickly ducked out of the serving hall, choosing a seat on the far side of the dining hall.

There was chatter as people pointed towards Alex, much of it gossip, no doubt. Everyone was donned in the uniform, and they were all Wizards—at least from where Alex could see. She slid the map and schedule out from under her tray and began eating the corn. A bit of water had sloshed out of the tall glass, and Alex set down her fork down and gulped down half of her water. She made sure her hair covered her ears, hoping that everyone would only think she was a Nymph and not a mixed-blood. Her pants more-or-less covered her feet, and she doubted anyone would notice that they were small in relation to her height anyway.

The talking sounded mostly like usual gossip about a new student, which Alex was thankful for, though she was still on edge. Having lived on Waverly Place her entire life, Alex had never had to be known as the new girl or had gone somewhere she didn't know anyone.

"Who are you?" The girl who had been standing behind the boy's sister in the serving hall sat across from Alex, her dark brown curls bouncing about her shoulders as she sat. Her smile was only slight, and there looked to only be curiosity in her azure eyes. Alex remembered seeing her wrinkle her freckled, button nose as she looked over Alex back in the serving hall. She wasn't really interested in getting to know her, and Alex immediately decided she didn't like her.

"Claire." Alex took a large bite of green beans, her tone curt.

The girl's small smile wavered as she blinked. "My name's Madalene. I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"I'm new," Alex replied brusquely.

Seeing that she was getting nowhere, Madalene left with her tray, and Alex just kept eating, trying not to do so too quickly. Her ears burned as the whispering persisted, though she was thankful that not _everyone_ was speaking about her. Others were talking about classes, upcoming tests, and how horrible some of the professors were. Alex had moved onto her fruit salad as a tray hit the table next to her and she was suddenly yanked up in a hug.

Eyes wide, Alex dropped her fork onto the plate, but she almost cried when she realized that it was Justin holding onto her. She hugged him back as her lips pressed together to keep from any cries from coming out. The whispering got a bit more persistent as Justin and Alex hugged before their peers, a tear managing to escape from the both of them. Finally, Justin broke away and held Alex away at arm's length, evaluating her.

"What happened to you?" Worry had filled her eyes, and Alex noticed that he, too, was speaking Wizarn. She guessed it was due to the specialized microphone Emmanuel had spoken of.

Wiping away her tear, Alex choked out, "It's a long story. Can we sit down? I'm really hungry and a little dizzy. She sat down before Justin could nod in agreement, and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max race towards her. His tray hit the table with a **thump**, his glass of water nearly spilling over. He wrapped his arms around his sister, nearly choking her. She reached back to wrap her arms around him, whispering, "It's okay, Maxy. I'm fine." She let go of him, and he sat next to her as Juliette came around, sitting across from Justin, her eyes on Alex with surprise.

"How…" Her voice was a wisp beneath her low breath. She said this in English, and Alex guessed that she had either drunk the blood of a Wizard to obtain the language or had already known it.

Cleaning sauce from the handle of her fork with a napkin, Alex took a deep breath, still feeling woozy from the spell. "When I was forced through that portal, Natasha's lightning hit me and ripped up my lung. I was healed, but it took a long time. I escaped today." Alex left much out, but she didn't want to go into the part about Idolon taking over her body and Joan actually being some girl named Yin. That reminded Alex.

"Where's Joan?" Emmanuel hadn't mentioned Joan being here. Where was she? Had there ever even been a Joan? There had to have been, but Alex wasn't sure when the switch could have happened.

All three looked uncomfortable, and it was Justin who answered. "At some point, a shape-shifter traded places with Joan. The real Joan was found in Harriman State Park by a scout evaluating damage done during the quake. A branch fell and broke her leg, and she was unconscious. They took her to the infirmary in Celetsiakami. Elias said she would be sent to find you. If you're here now, that probably means she'll be here shortly, but they say she had been hurt badly from some fight as well as the earthquake. Luckily, she was unconscious, so she didn't feel any pain." His voice was low, obviously not wanting anyone to overhear.

The park. When Joan had gone away from the others, Yin must have ambushed her to take her place. That was why the fight had been as easy as it was. The plan had been to replace Joan with Yin to get close to Alex and find her soul. She shivered at the thought. How could she not have noticed? Alex prayed that Joan was alright.

The girl may have been annoying at times, but she just wanted to help and do more than what was in her ability. She didn't deserve die for that. Alex wondered about Caleb's wounds. He must have gotten too close and had seen Yin. She nearly killed him to make sure the plan wasn't ruined. It made Alex feel sick, but she forced herself to eat. The others had barely touched their food, and they were silent for most of the lunch period, Justin and Max both close to Alex as if trying to protect her.

"You have Professor Crumbs next, right?" asked Justin after he finished his food.

"Yeah," Alex answered as she took the last bite of her cutlet covered in a light brown sauce and served over what looked like rice, though it was yellow-brown with dark spots. "Head Master Dupont said we all had the same classes. What are they like, anyway?"

"Like regular school," Max responded.

"Except for spell casting, magic theory, and those type classes," Juliette added, putting down her fork. She had only eaten half her food and had only taken a few sips of the water.

"And Max and I have to keep asking people to slow down when they talk. Apparently, the chips need time to process the words to give us the right translation. Same for the chips in our mouths. We have to talk slowly for it to work correctly." Justin finished his water and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

Nodding, Alex understood, though she wondered how the chips worked—especially the ones in their mouths. She decided not to think about it any longer, since the technology was probably way over her head. She saw a bunch of students get up to clear their trays and place them on a conveyor belt leading into the cleaning station. Alex quickly finished her rice and followed Justin and Juliette towards the conveyor belt with Max right behind her. She noticed that they were all wearing the same uniform as the others, and heat rose to her cheeks as Alex realized she stuck out like a sore thumb in her spaghetti-strap tops, cloth pants, and hobo gloves. She tried to avoid the gazes and ignore the whispers, but her heart thudded with anxiety as she walked out of the dining hall. Alex clutched her schedule and the map in her right hand.

"You think Professor Crumbs will be shocked to see me like this?" Alex tried to liven up the mood as she tried to settle her racing heart. Since when did _she_ get so nervous when in the center of attention?

"You get used to it." Justin tried to laugh, but it sounded awkward.

"No you don't," said Juliette trenchantly.

"Juliette!" whispered Justin harshly, not even bothering to use the name she was given while attending Wiztech. Max looked just as annoyed at her remark, but Alex only sighed. She had expected this sort of behavior from Juliette. It would take a long time for it to change—if it ever did.

"What?" Juliette looked like she wasn't going to apologize, her shoulders moving in a shrug. She stalked off, Justin close behind after flashing Alex an apologetic look.

Staying behind with Max, Alex only nodded when Max suddenly piped up. "Oh, uh… There's something we didn't tell you back at lunch…" He sounded a little nervous.

"I already know you guys have fake names here, _Marcel_. Mine's Claire, by the way." Alex watched as Justin and Juliette disappeared into the throng of bodies as more eyes glanced Alex's way. The whispering had become louder, and she pressed her lips together tightly to keep from yelling at them.

"That's not it."

"Then what?" Looking at the map, Alex saw that they were approaching Professor Crumb's classroom. She turned right to go down a hallway narrower than the last, all the rooms labeled with an L in front of a number. She found L-6, only half-listening to Max's babbling. Nearing the classroom, Alex stopped as laughter from within the room filled her ears. "It can't be."

Max realized what she had heard. "Alex—_Claire_, that's what I'm trying to tell y—"

Alex darted into the room, seeing the source of the laughter sitting on one of the long wooden desks that seated two each. She was in the third row back on the desk closest to the wall with the door. Her back was to Alex, but Alex could recognize the girl with red-brown anywhere, even in that uniform.

"_Harper_?!"


	27. Ace of Wands

**Chapter 27: Ace of Wands**

"'_Who controls the past', ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'" - from 1894_

Standing in the doorway, Alex ignored everyone that turned to face her, all surprised at the sudden outburst. She vaguely saw Justin and Juliette sitting at one of the desks in the back on the other side of the room. Juliette was biting the inside of her cheek, and Justin's head was in his hands. He tended to do that when he realized he had forgotten something major. Some looked at her with curiosity, others with surprise or shock, and a few in askance, as if not sure what to think about the new girl intruding into their routine.

One brunette just froze, back straight. She did not move, as if hoping the girl that called her name may disappear. Alex tapped one of her bare feet, the sound almost swallowed by the noise in the hallway, most of them not bothering to be late for class just to indulge in their curiosity. Alex heard the brunette swallow as she slowly turned, falling off of the desk as a yelp was torn from her lungs. Her skirt flew up briefly, and a tall guy that had been standing by her caught her under the arms so she wouldn't hit the stone floor. She stood up and regained her balance, thanking the guy in Wizarn, her words shaking slightly. The guy with dark brown hair that half-way hid his hazel eyes nodded, looking up at Alex, face blank.

"A…" She looked over at Justin, but Juliette was the one who gave a nod, and Max went to sit in his seat in front of Justin, mouthing Alex's alias. She turned back to Alex, gaining composure. "Uh, hi Claire. Sorry, you just… surprised me. I… didn't know that… you were coming." She spoke in Etan now, and some of the students looked at each other, confused—Alex guessed they didn't know the language.

"Same here." Alex's voice was cold, and she thought she actually saw Harper shiver.

She spoke in Etan as well, not wanting the other students to intrude in on their conversation. She inched closer to Harper, keeping her steps slow and quiet. Her wings fluttered in agitation, and that was when Harper noticed them, her brown eyes going wide again.

"_How_?" She spoke in a low tone and stood only a foot away from Harper. The boy stood right behind the brunette, acting as if he were her body guard. Alex made her hands into fists, the paper crinkling in her left hand.

"Uh…" The bell rang, cutting Harper off. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Fine." Alex didn't want to wait, but she also didn't want everyone around her eavesdropping. She unclenched her fist and handed over her schedule. "Meet me at my dorm later."

Looking over the schedule, Harper nodded. "I know where that is." She handed back the piece of paper, trying to give a smile. "I'll be there after the last class." She waited as Alex gave a nod. "This is my cousin, Léon," she stated, indicating to the boy behind her.

He gave a curt nod as Alex looked over at him. He was a bit taller than her, and that was saying something, seeing as Alex was nearly six feet in height now. Harper had to incline her head slightly just to meet her eyes, though she seemed to be avoiding them.

"Alright." Alex stalked away, taking the empty seat next to Max as Professor Crumbs glided into the classroom, shutting the door behind him. As he made his way to the large, mahogany desk in the front, everyone took their seats, eyes still flickering Alex's way. She kept an elbow on her desk, chin in her palm, trying to put on the same façade she wore at school back in New York.

Now wearing blue and black robes, Alex noticed the same crest on Professor Crumbs's outfit as the other students'. He wore his usual cap, and he was silent as he took out a stack of reports from a drawer.

"I have been informed that a new student will be joining us today," began Professor Crumbs, speaking Wizarn. "Her name is Claire Leblanc. Try to make her feel welcome." He passed out the reports, and Alex saw that the reports were all on some book called _The Judgment_ by Franz Kafka. When he passed by her to hand Max his report, he seemed unfazed by how she looked—she guessed he had spoken with Emmanuel.

Max had a low grade, which he made a face at. Alex guessed he didn't read the book but just looked up the plot summary—Alex was sure there was internet here, though the computers were most likely different than at home. Finally, eyes seemed to leave Alex as they scanned over their grades, a few groans and one or two cheers filling the room. Most just sighed in relief or just didn't care. Alex guessed this was the class people got when the others were full.

"Now," Professor Crumbs made his way to the front of the class when the reports were all passed back. "Those who have not given back _The Punishment_ may do so after class, and I will start passing out _The Sound and the Fury_ by William Faulkner. It's only four chapters—"

He was cut off as students whispered in happiness.

After a sharp exhale, the elderly man cleared his throat. "_But_ each chapter is told by a different character. It's written in a style called 'stream of consciousness,' and it can get very confusing. I had to read this book three times to understand it."

Now there were groans, and the professor smiled. He allowed this to soak in before continuing.

"The first two chapters are the hardest to understand, but I find them as the most interesting. The first chapter is told by the youngest brother, Benjamin 'Benjy' Compson, who is mentally disabled. He has no concept of time, and he is not even able to speak. The second chapter is told by the eldest, Quentin Compson, who is more-or-less insane. The third chapter is told by the second-to-youngest, Jason Compson III, who is basically a jerk. You'll be able to tell from just the first line of his chapter. However, the fourth chapter is different. I've always thought it should have been told by Candace 'Caddy' Compson, the second child, and you'll see why I think this as we read on. However, it is in third-person, but it focuses on the servant of the Compson home, Dilsey."

As Professor Crumbs had given the explanation, he had taken a pile of books from the giant, oak bookshelf in the back and began to hand smaller stacks to those in the front row. They began to pass back the books as Professor Crumbs spoke, and Alex examined her copy. Some of the pages were bent, the edges yellowed, but it was a bit thick to only have four chapters. It wasn't too bad though. She leafed through it, trying to find Jason's chapter, deciding to look at the first line. The chapters were marked as dates, Benjy's, Jason's, and Dilsey's going in sequence in 1928, whereas Quentin's chapter was in 1910. It confused Alex a bit, but she guessed that she'd figure it out if she decided to read. She finally found Jason's chapter, and her eyebrows rose at the first line:

_Once a bitch, always a bitch_.

_Wow,_ thought Alex. _He _is_ a jerk. Suddenly this book doesn't sound so horrible._

She closed the book, and looked up to see that Professor Crumbs had gone to write something on his desk, the words appearing on the screen that covered the majority of the back wall. It looked almost like a mirror that gave a soft shimmer as the dark blue letters appeared on its surface.

Alex followed the words as they appeared, relieved that she was able to read Wizarn and not just speak it. However, Max just looked confused—though that wasn't very uncommon. Of course, though, Alex realized that the devices he and Justin were given only allowed them to understand and speak Wizarn. They couldn't read or write it.

_How are they getting by in class?_ She wondered. _Does Head Master Dupont pull some strings to make sure they get excused from written work?_ Alex looked over at Max's report, which had been pushed towards the wall. _No… Maybe they've been given laptops to help with translation or something?_

Alex noticed that not many of the students carried bags or books everywhere. It was possible that most of the issued books stayed in the dorm rooms. Some of Alex's classes at Tribeca had a class set of books so that the students wouldn't have to lug their copies back and forth, and some of her teachers had even called the text books "pieces of crap" and always just told their students to leave the books in their lockers or use them as door-stops at home until May.

However, most of the students here had laptops, and Alex turned around, seeing that Justin and Juliette (as well as most of the other students) each had what must be a laptop here, the screen part just a rectangle (propped up with a built-in stand) of clear plastic or type of glass, the keyboard colored light (Juliette's was pink, Justin's red), beamed onto the desk by a small circle at the bottom of the screen.

Max didn't have one, so Alex guessed he had forgotten his back in his dorm. She also guessed that Justin and Juliette had come here to drop off their laptops before going to lunch.

Looking back up, Alex saw that Professor Crumbs was going to explain some of the history behind the book to make the characters' actions, circumstances, and the topics more understandable. Images appeared on the screen behind him, one looking like a rough outline of the US. He then further outlined a state in the southern part not far from where Alex knew Texas to be. Professor Crumbs then tapped on his desk, the screen in the back zooming in on the image.

"_The Sound and the Fury_ takes place in Mississippi, a southern state in the United States of America," Professor Crumbs explained. "This is important, because the majority of the 'present time' in the book takes place right after the Southern Reformation that had followed the country's civil war."

He went on to explain, and Alex tuned him out most of the time, foot tapping softly as she thought about the conversation she would later have with Harper.

**xxx**

After Casting II, Alex was worn down, feeling drained of energy. She had still been dizzy after doing that transporting spell back in Tartarus, and the class had made it worse. The classroom had resembled a gym with the large amount of space, high ceiling, and lines painted on the hardwood floor. The building where the class took place was newer than the castle and was several yards away from the side door. Alex, her brothers, and Juliette had gotten there just as the bell rang.

The class had begun with a simple spell—conjuring an orb of light. They then got into a line and created multiple orbs of light, maneuvering them around the classroom and through obstacles Professor Moreau had set up. She had set up hoops, near-invisible strings woven like webs, tall sticks that the orbs had to weave around, and a horizontal pole the orb had to stretch and twirl around like a vine before snapping back together. They had also worked with levitation—though the heaviest object had been a large, goose-feather pillow.

Sore, Alex had immediately gone to find her dorm room, dinner being served in an hour for the first wave and in two hours for the second wave. Alex was in the second wave, but Professor Moreau had given everyone water and a protein bar—Alex had gotten two protein bars. She finished both walking along with Juliette, who was, unfortunately, her roommate. Neither spoke as they walked, Juliette carrying a black tote bag over her right shoulder.

The girls' wing was on the fourth story, and many girls stood in the main and branching hallways, gossiping and catching up, some trying to help each other with homework. There was a common room at the end of the main hallway, but it was already full of a few different cliques Alex didn't want to bother with. She just followed Juliette, seeing how each hallway had a different name. The hallway where her dorm room was located was Sun Hall, and the gold-colored number attached to the dark-wood door was 6.

Juliette went in first, and she had enough courtesy left to hold the door open for Alex, which she thanked with a nod. The room was fair-sized and had a tapestry hanging on the wall next to the window, the blue curtains drawn over it to keep out light. Two beds were pushed against opposite walls; Juliette's was right under the beautiful tapestry that depicted two phoenixes—silver and gold. They looked to be in a dance with a night sky behind them, and the phoenixes looked to be made completely out of metallic flames. The border was made of a tribal design, reds, oranges, and yellows interweaving.

On the other bed was a uniform, the shirt and blazer complete with slits in the back for her wings. There was another tapestry over her bed, but this one depicted a red and blue dragon looking as if they were about to come to blows. The red dragon was nearing the edge of a cliff, the sun setting behind them. The border had the same tribal design as the other, but the colors were blue, green, and white. The white pillow and royal blue comforter on the bed was identical to Juliette's, but Alex's nightstand was empty except for a single lamp, while Juliette's was littered with folders and notebooks, the hollow square in the front packed full of books, arranged so that they would all fit.

Opposite of the beds were two desks and two armoires. On the desk across from Alex's bed were some text books and a laptop like the others. There was also a light blue tote bag. The text books also came with syllabuses, and Alex looked over them, finding that she would have to read another book along with _The Sound and the Fury_, which Alex tossed onto her bed.

She also had Luçade History, Beginners Defensive Magic, Anatomy and Physiology, and Enchanting and Charm-Making I. Her text books for white day classes were on the other side of the desk, though there wasn't a book for Casting II. Alex went back to the other books, finding the book she was supposed to read for Luçade History: _Grain of Sand_. It was about twice as thick as _The Sound and the Fury_, but, luckily, she had five weeks to read it—if she even bothered to open it that was.

"The bathroom is down the hall. We share it with the other girls on Sun Hall."

Alex nearly jumped when Juliette suddenly piped up, taking out one of the books from her night stand and started reading it as she lay down. Her words were cool, but the ire had ebbed—though it was not completely extinguished.

"There should be a towel in the bottom left drawer of your desk. There should also be some changes in underwear and some PJs. There's also an extra pillow and a blanket, but I doubt you'll need the blanket."

Alex then noticed that Juliette had removed her blazer, and she dabbed at the light shine of sweat on her arms with the black tie.

Going over to the window, Alex was met with bright light and warm air that had a touch of humidity. She guessed it to be either late spring or early summer.

"Oh." It messed with Alex's brain to go from the freezing winter of New York City, then Boston, the mildness of Lietmat under their non-sun, and now the warmth of… whatever the name of this city was. Apparently, the country was called Luçade (if her history class was anything to go by), but Alex didn't even know the name of the planet. Sighing, she went back to the desk, opening the drawer Juliette had mentioned. It was all there, along with a note in barely legible cursive, written in Etan:

_Claire,_

_You, Marcel, Juste, and__Jacquenette will be staying here  
until the end of the trimester. All of you will then be  
moved to a different location. HCL has requested that we  
do not keep you in one place for too long. Also, look in  
the top drawer. I believe you lost this back in Boston.  
My wife, Amabella, added a small ribbon so you can  
wear it around your neck and keep better track of it.  
Good luck with your studies, and keep in mind that  
we had to keep you here on a scholarship program.  
It would be overly difficult to keep you here if you  
let your grades slip._

_Head Master Dupont_

Sighing, Alex put the note away, not liking the idea of moving around so much—that had been another reason why she didn't want to go into the Air Force. She also had to wonder about the plans the Purities were making. Obviously, Natasha was still giving orders, so that meant she was alive and conscious. Alex doubted the other Commanders would allow her to come to see her again after the incident with Idolon and Yin, and based on the injuries Alex had sustained, she was willing to bet Idolon had caused some _real_ trouble.

Not wanting to just start pacing as she waited for Harper to arrive, Alex took out the laptop and finally turned it on after Juliette barked out the instructions for how to do so. The programs had already been loaded, which Alex was thankful for. She didn't know how to do any of that crap. She saw that the desktop was a large _nazar_ hanging in front of a white space, and Alex finally opened the top drawer, already knowing what she would find.

Her charm was attached to a thin, navy ribbon, and Alex pulled it over her head, the charm resting over her heart, comforting her instantly. She was not sure if it would shield her from the prying eyes of the Evils, but, if anything, it provided her with some peace of mind. That was one of the best things she could ask for at the moment.

Suddenly, a window popped up on the transparent screen, showing Natasha giving a wide smile and a casual, two-finger salute. She wasn't shy about showing her fangs, but Alex didn't mind seeing them anymore. The half-Vampire looked tired, and her skin was a shade paler than Alex remembered. Yet, her voice was just as strong as it was in Boston.

"I've been waiting for you to turn this thing on. I was in a dead sleep when Emmanuel calls to say that you've arrived safe and sound—minus a scrape on your chin and maybe a few bruises." Well, that explained why she still looked tired. "Glad to see you're still alive. That lightning bolt through you didn't give you _too_ much trouble, did it?"

Juliette perked up at this, and Alex looked over at her, mouthing, "Long story." As she turned back around to look at Natasha, Juliette came over behind her. "You too, Natasha. What exactly happened? One minute, I'm in that room upstairs, pinned to the floor by some chick disguised as Joan, and then I wake up in Tartarus."

She decided to leave out the mental-battle with Idolon and finding the door into Idolon's own mind, complete with a soul. Alex wanted to ask about this, but not in front of Juliette.

"_What_?!" exclaimed Juliette, but she was ignored.

"The bitch in your head stabbed me in the stomach. Sorry about the lighting. It was an impulse. I didn't mean for it to be that powerful, but…" She shrugged, an apologetic look in her eyes.

"I'm fine now, but escaping wasn't the easiest thing in the world, though it seemed _too_ easy. But what about you? Wouldn't using the energy to conjure lightning drain you? Especially after getting _stabbed_." Alex was not sure how Natasha could have seemed so calm about saying that she was stabbed in the stomach.

Natasha waved that off. "I blacked out afterwards, so I didn't really feel any pain until several hours later in Celetsiakami after my surgery when the anesthesia started wearing off. Luckily, Ivanov was pumping me with morphine. I kept trying to get out of there—I can't stand that sterile, hospital smell, but Ivanov forced me back into my room every time and finally knocked me out for a few more hours after I tore out my stitches. Eventually, I decided to play 'good girl' and just work from the room, having the meetings there." She caught the look in Alex's eyes. "Look, it's not a big deal. I'm alive, aren't I? Besides, what was there to worry about? _Dying_?" Natasha barked out a laugh. "Please, why should I be afraid of death? Death's afraid of _me_. Why do you think it spat me back out so fast the last time?"

Natasha was just one of those people that made it hard to argue with the, so instead of arguing, Alex decided to move on: "So what's the plan from here? Or are you guys just making it up as you go along?"

Natasha gave a snort of laughter at Alex's suspicion. "There's a plan, though strategizing has never been my forte—"

"You're not making me feel better."

"Not my job." The laughter was gone from Natasha's face, the slight blush to her cheeks giving the only show of it ever having been there. "I'm not talking to you to make you feel better. If you can't handle the truth, find a rock and hide under it. Got it? I'm not going to baby you."

Alex hesitated. She hadn't realized that Natasha could be this blunt. She respected her for it, but Alex wanted some kind of encouragement that things would be alright. Natasha was the type of person that give people what it was they _needed_ regardless of what they _wanted_. Eventually, Alex just nodded.

"Okay, so what's going on?"

"I can't tell you everything," Natasha responded, putting up an index finger to tell Alex not to yell at her just yet, "but I can guarantee you that there will be people watching you at all times. Your parents are fine, by the way." Alex gave a nod. "Yours too, Juliette." The blonde nodded as well. "Right now, though, only the other Commanders and I know of the entire plan. We want to make sure that any Evil spies that could be lurking about don't know anything about it." Alex gave another nod. "But all I can tell you is to search for your soul. You'll be needing it."

"Where is it?" Alex was excited to be this close to getting her soul. Her heart pounded within her chest, speeding as if she were doing sprints. She could feel Juliette eying her, but she ignored the Notte, just wanting her soul back.

Eyebrows rising, Natasha's eyes stayed neutral. "You can't possibly think it's going to be that easy."

Frowning, it almost felt like Alex's heart had stopped abruptly. "What do you mean?"

"Sorry, Alex, but these things are easy to hack into and let people listen in. Plus, _I_ don't even know where your soul is. Only a few people do, but I don't even know enough to tell you _who_. It was hidden away long before I became the High Commander. Try touching the psychic element. Maybe you'll be able to induce a vision and find it that way. Just keep in mind that visions aren't normally very clear, and even those Gifted with foresight normally need some sort of medium to receive the visions. Mirrors and bowls of water—the bowl needs to be black though—are good. Fire tends to be better, and there are certain gems that work best, like mica. Jeremejevite is preferred, but it's really rare and _very_ expensive—no matter _what_ planet you're on."

Heaving a sigh, Alex gave a nod. "Got it." She didn't like that she would have to basically go on a scavenger hunt for her soul, but if it was the only way, then she'd go through with it.

"Okay—"

A male voice with an accent that made his voice go into a higher pitch in a few places interrupted Natasha. "High Commander Landon, I need to speak with you about some important matters."

Sighing, Natasha called, "I'll be right there, Commander Satyr." She smiled back at Alex. "Good luck." Natasha reached for something, and the window disappeared.

"Okay," Juliette's tone made Alex turn around. "I have some questions for you."

There was a knock at the door, and Alex stood up. "Hold that thought, okay? The third player of Twenty Questions just arrived."


	28. Knight of Wands

**Chapter 28: Knight of Wands**

"_A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory." - unknown_

Both chairs had been pulled away from the desk, and Alex sat on her bed, stretching her wings before doing so to avoid bending her primary feathers. Harper had been staring at her wings the entire time, unsuccessfully trying to make it look discreet. Juliette sat to Harper's left, her eyes meeting Alex's. She had her left leg crossed over her right, one foot tapping. It wasn't audible with her shoes off and next to her bed, but Alex could see that she was impatient and wanted answers. It had been silent for the first minute, and Alex tucked her hair behind her right ear, Harper's eyes going wide once more before she composed herself in a few seconds. Alex had thrown her uniform onto her pillow, _The Sound and the Fury_ on top of it. Alex did not want to be the first to speak, but the silence was becoming unbearable.

"Harper, what are you doing here?" she finally asked, looking away from Juliette and at her best friend.

She still remembered that day in kindergarten vividly. Harper had lived in New York her entire life. She had never questioned the Russo family weirdness more than a few times, always believing those ridiculous excuses. She had been shocked and ecstatic when Alex had her take that card that transported them to space—well, an illusion of space.

Harper had never been the best of actresses—Alex had seen her audition for the part of Tinkerbell. It was better than Alex's acting, but it was still not very believable. There was no way she could have been able to lie to Alex for so long, right?

Sighing, Harper tucked some hair behind a sharply pointed ear. "I'm half Wizard and half Elf. My mom's a Wizard from farther north of here, and my dad's an Elf. He's a sociologist and was assigned to work in New York City for the past, oh… twenty-something years? I think you met my mom. She lives in that old, abandoned paint-a-plate warehouse just outside of the city. She probably told you that she was me from the future." Harper gave a chuckle at the last sentence, but there was no humor in it.

"What?" Alex's voice was low, and her tone made it to where it barely sounded like a question. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was open.

Juliette had turned to look at Harper, an equal amount of astonishment in her eyes. Only, Juliette had never even _met_ H.J. Darling. She had _seemed_ like Harper from the future—she _had_ to be! She wore the same weird clothes, made snicker doodles with red hots, and she even had plates with _Justin's_ _face _on them.

"I've _met_ your mom, Harper," said Alex softly. "She looks nothing like H.J. Darling. H.J. Darling looks—"

"Like an older version of me," finished Harper with a sigh. "But if you recall," Harper began to count on her fingers, "her nose and eyes were a different shape, her face has a slightly different structure, and she was a couple inches _shorter_ than me. I'm pretty sure you don't start shrinking at thirty-two."

"Thirty-two?!" Juliette's eyebrows knitted together. "That means she had you when she was sixteen!"

Solemnly, Harper nodded. "She and my dad had a one-night stand. My mom was sixteen, and my dad was nineteen. When he found out that she was pregnant, he offered to send money, but my mom always refused it and moved to the abandoned warehouse in New York, using what was left of her inheritance to buy gold coins back in this nation to trade for US currency.

"She then used those to buy the warehouse, furniture, art supplies, and other necessities. My dad found her when I was born, and he would help out, but he never wanted to marry her. Instead, he married a Magician. Alex, that's who you met. They got married, but Leslie never knew about me. That is, until police took my mother away to the hospital when I was three, and a social worker took me away."

Harper swallowed, blinking away tears. "My mom's… unstable. She's doing better now, but she's not qualified to be a 'safe guardian', so I have to live with my dad and Leslie. Unfortunately, they were married for two years, and that was the first Leslie heard of me. She was _furious_. She doesn't believe in divorce—neither does my dad, but it almost happened, Leslie arguing that he had basically cheated on _her_ by getting another woman pregnant. Even if it _was_ before they got married. They stayed together though, and I started to grow on Leslie. She and my dad started to fight a lot though a few years later when Leslie found out about my dad being an Elf who was basically studying 'Human behavior' as his job."

"But…" Alex was confused. Some things just did not add up, but Harper wasn't done.

She took a deep breath and continued. "My mom's name is Harhur Jeanetta Darling. Her father is from a nation that uses Etan—_English_," Harper quickly corrected, "as its main language. That's why her first and last name don't sound very French-ie. She mostly went by Jeanetta at school when she was here. I still visited her every weekend, but it wasn't for long. All those plates with Justin's face were ones I made."

Harper said the last sentence softly as she eyed Juliette, then cleared her throat. "Mom always put up my work on display. I pretty much got my artistic talent from her. Too bad she'd stay up night-and-day, painting, making scrapbooks, and writing. Her storage is full of paintings she's done. I hid them there—she doesn't go into the storage. She thinks it's haunted, because the voices she hears gets louder there. She thinks those paintings are in museums. I've been getting my dad to secretly give her some money to keep up the illusion." Blinking, Harper was not able to catch one of her tears, and she wiped it away with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry, Harper." It was the only thing Alex could think of to say. Juliette just nodded.

Faking a smile, Harper nodded. "She really _does_ do scrapbooking with underprivileged kids, though, but there's normally someone watching her during the classes. My mom doesn't have a history of violence, but they just want to make sure. The paranoia schizophrenia wasn't caught until she was taken to the hospital, but, before that, she had done self-mutilation—cutting. It was on her thighs and shoulders, so people normally didn't notice, but they found the scars when she was at the hospital.

"They keep her on medication, but she doesn't always like to take them. She always thought people were out to get her. That's why she wouldn't take my dad's money. She thought there was some kind of toxin or black magic curse on it that would kill her. She was always anxious, and you can see in some of her paintings that she always had a slight tremor in her hand. She almost never left the warehouse. Actually, that time she came to the substation was probably the first time she had left in _years_. She thought that the people after her would find her if she left, so she'd make a circle of salt around her bed every night to protect herself. She'd also make a circle of salt around my bed when I was there.

"I said she didn't have a history of being violent, but there _were_ a couple of times when she fought or struck someone because of her anxiety or suspicions. When she was pregnant with me and still meeting with my dad to discuss what was going to happen, she gave him a black eye and ran away when he handed her a cup of coffee. She thought he was trying to give her poison to kill me while I was still in the womb. Then there was the time she was taken away: She and my aunt were arguing. Aunt Belle was trying to get my mom to come back home, but my mom didn't want to. Ever since she was little, my mom had always believed, for some reason, that her parents were _plotting_ against her. She hated them. Not like most kids who say that. She really, truly _hated_ them because of that belief, which I think has something to do with those voices.

"Anyway, they argued, and I was trying to get something off one of the shelves, knocking over some plates. My mom _flipped out_. She thought that I was a changeling that had replaced her real baby because she had forgotten to put a circle of salt around my crib one night. She hit me and went to get some scissors, but Aunt Belle called the police and restrained my mother before she could do anything.

"She still talks to the voices, many of them reporters, people buying her paintings, museum curators, and stuff like that. She doesn't get the bad voices as much anymore—the ones that tell her all kinds of stuff that had made her cut herself those years ago. But she had pretended to be me from the future because she didn't want anyone else to really know who she was. That was one of her more lucid weeks, and she knew all that stuff because she had taken my diary when I mistakenly brought it over there a about a year ago—she thought it was a writing journal. She doesn't tell anyone she has a daughter—she doesn't want people to label me as the girl with a nutcase mom. She's afraid they'll think I have that gene and will pass it on." Harper finally finished and took a deep breath. Alex and Juliette were speechless.

_Her life is even crappier than I thought it was_. Alex was at a loss of what to say.

She finally decided that there were no words, so she hugged her, Harper stiffening in surprise. That wasn't unexpected. Alex had never been one for hugs. She had never really enjoyed being touched in general, but there had been certain times where she allowed it, even needed it. Sometimes it was the only way to give a message of care and love when the dictionary held no words for that same message.

Juliette placed a hand on Harper's shoulder, offering a small smile that looked almost sad after hearing that story. Everyone in this room had been scarred in some way or another. Alex swallowed as she braced for what would come next. She was glad that Juliette hadn't tried to tear her limb from limb yet, but Alex kept her mind ready to look out for an attack by the girl with super strength and speed. This was going to be hard to explain, but Alex would do the best she could.

"What about you?" Harper inquired, her voice still holding a slight crack from holding back her tears. "Last I saw, you had lighter skin, brown eyes, round ears, and you didn't have _wings_. Also, why'd you put that streak in your hair?"

Alex lifted one of the ice blue strands. "I didn't. From what I've learned, I have bloodlines running back to Witches, Nymphs, Elves, Sprites, and Trolls. There could be more, but that's all I know right now. I was adopted… sorta. My mom found me in a taxi after she had been informed about her miscarriage and then decided to keep me. Before she did, I had been given some sort of potion, spell, or _something_ that made me look the way I did so I could fit in with my family. My _real_ name is Seraphina Sataruskasenka."

Eyes wide, Harper blinked twice then got up, anger coming over her. "Alex, I can't believe you would lie about something like that. Seraphina Sataruskasenka is a _myth_. I can't believe I tell you something really personal, and you decide to make a joke out of it."

She began to walk out of the room, but Alex jumped up and grabbed Harper by the arm. Juliette's chair scooted back as she stood, probably ready to tackle Alex if she tried to hurt Harper, who just glared at Alex.

"Think about it, Harper," said Alex with pleading eyes. She needed her to believe this. "Is there _any_ spell or potion that could change me in any other way other than using illusions? You've hit me in the back before. You would have felt wings if it was an illusion. Remember how I was eating a lot more before winter break?"

Harper nodded.

"I was also losing a _lot_ of weight. Last I checked, I weighed barely ninety pounds. It might be even less now. I don't know. My skin and eyes started to change color after that. Then my hair, and I cut it to… I didn't want to look the way I used to look before this life. That was a different person, and I wanted to separate myself from that. Remember when I fell asleep in history?"

Harper nodded again, the anger lessoning, though the suspicion remained.

"I had also fallen asleep in chemistry, and I collapsed twice the night Juliette came over for dinner, then once after Joan revealed herself to be Gatobella."

Standing there in silence, Harper's eyes widened a degree.

"What does that have to do with anything?" questioned Juliette as she eyed Alex warily.

"At those times, this second personality or whatever in the back of my head shoved memories into my consciousness, making me remember different times in the past. At first, I thought they were just dreams. Then, Juliette saw my painting and confirmed that the dream had actually happened. I thought maybe Seraphina had been a look-alike or something from a different time and she was haunting me for some reason. But… No such luck. Joan explained a lot of it, but all she and others know are lies," Alex explained, voice cracking.

She hadn't realized she had been squeezing Harper's harm so tightly, but the brunette did not seem to notice. Alex sat down again, gesturing to the chair. After a moment's hesitation, Harper sat, and Juliette followed suit. Alex looked between the two of them, her gaze landing on Harper.

"I used to be a murderer, Harper. A killer with no conscience. That part of me is locked away far in my mind, but I still hear her sometimes…" Alex stopped, seeing Harper's shock. She probably thought Alex was insane. Her mother heard voices. Alex had already admitted to having a second personality and hearing her speak. This would probably be harder than she thought.

"Alex…"

"I'M NOT CRAZY!" Alex swallowed, thinking that she probably sounded even more insane. "The connection closed. I don't know how to explain her, but… I don't think she's really a second personality. That's what I call her, but only because I have no idea what she really is. She says to call her Idolon. She's able to take over, and that's what she did back in Boston." Alex caught Harper's confusion. "My family, Juliette, Joan, and I went to a safe house there. S-something happened in New York." Alex's voice had a tremor, and she saw Juliette pale as she looked down. The memories were all too fresh. Alex wondered if they were still clearing bodies.

"What do you mean?" Harper looked worried. "Head Master said I'd be staying here for the rest of the trimester instead of just a couple weeks like usual, but he never said why. I tried to call my dad, but…" She saw the look in Alex's eyes. "What happened?" Tears strangled her words.

"There was an earthquake," answered Juliette. "A big one. They probably felt it all the way up in Canada. The entire city is devastated. Alex's house came crashing down around us. Only some of it still stands, but it's no longer stable, and the only thing that had kept us from getting crushed was a large energy shield Mr. Russo, Joan, and Alex had created." Juliette stared at the floor as she spoke, her lips barely moving to form the words.

Pale, Harper shook, tears sliding down her cheeks. "No… _No_. What about my parents? What about Leslie? They can't be…" She looked down and blinked hard. "Senka Divines… please, please, _please_ let them be okay." Her voice shook, and her hands were clasped in her lap.

Alex decided to leave out the part where the Joan Juliette and she had spoken about was not the real one but a fake that had taken her place to watch Alex. Harper had way too much to mull over right now.

Instead, Alex tried her best to come up with something positive. She couldn't and just reached over to squeeze Harper's hands. Juliette placed a hand on Harper's shoulder, offering a small smile. Harper's own smile looked strained, and Alex whispered, "I'm sure they're okay."

Giving a weak nod, Harper simply stated, "This is just so much information in one day. All those myths… That's all they were, but… I can't believe it's all real. And the city. Alex, what have you gotten yourself mixed up in? What were those lies you were talking about?"

Bottom lip trembling slightly, Alex let go of Harper's hands and sat back. "People think that when Seraphina had created that revolt, it was to break the Four Evils apart—divide and conquer. She made everyone think that, but her real plan was to kill Set, leader of the Unspeakables, and take his place. Then… then she was going to take over the rest of the Evils. She had asked the Purities for help, making them believe that she was going to break the Evils apart so she could get her soul back. But Ivan, Head Commander of the Purities at the time, caught onto her and made it to where she would get caught and punished." Alex swallowed. "Fast-forward a few-hundred years later, and you have me." Alex looked at the astonishment shining over Harper's eyes and the suspicion in Juliette's.

"So…" Harper cleaned the tear trails from her face with her sleeve. "Your soul…?" She seemed uncomfortable asking about this.

"I don't have it," Alex whispered, eyes downcast. "I need your help. Juliette, I know how you feel about me, but it's my _soul_." She looked back up to look at the Notte. "I need both of you to help me with this. I have a feeling that I can't use just any old mirror to use for scrying."

Juliette held onto Alex's eyes for a long moment before finally looking away as she sighed. "No, it can't be. I'll help you find out where your soul is, but that's it. You've lived without it for so long, I'm not even sure if getting it will make a difference."

"I have to try," Alex said firmly, voice cracking.

"Scrying is an ancient art," supplied Harper. "I learned about it in Magic History last year. It's just about as ancient as the Circles. They're not really used anymore—except for a few detectives and such when they're desperate for leads. The images are really vague, and they tend not to be very reliable. It was the oldest form of communication of people of long distances, though."

"The mirrors have to be charmed with special enchantments, and when not in use, they have to be cleaned with a special oil every day and stored in a place where it would get plenty of sun," added Juliette. "The water in the basin has to be blessed, and the basin has to either be made of obsidian, hematite, or onyx. It also has to be charmed, like the mirror and stored in pitch blackness until you're ready to use it. The fire has to be lit by magic and be fed wood that has been absorbing saltwater for at least six days, then dried for two to three days. Any stones used for scrying has to be kept in velvet and close to a beating heart. You sometimes see people wearing a velvet bag around their neck." Juliette took a breath. "It would be tough to do any of this, but the mirror would be easiest."

"Um…" Harper drummed her fingers on her thigh. "I'm an aid for Madame Blanc, the professor for Enchanting and Charm-making. I have a key to her classroom, and she has everything we need to enchant a mirror. I have one in my room. I'll go get it and meet you guys at the front of room 205. It's on the second story, west tower. Oh, and Alex, you may want to put on the uniform. It's after class, so you don't have to put on the blazer, but…"

"I already know I stick out like a sore thumb," Alex sighed. "Got it, and thanks." She offered a smile, which Harper returned with a hug. This time, Alex didn't stiffen or tell Harper to get off of her.

"See you guys there!" She darted out of the room, and Alex went to get her uniform, Juliette going to the window to look away as Alex changed.

"She's taking this rather well," the blonde commented as she watched a humming bird dart from flower to flower in the garden down below.

Stepping out of her pants, Alex quickly pulled on the skirt as she went over to the drawer to get a bra. "She's just good at hiding her emotions. She always was." She took off her tops, minding her wings, and hooked the bra before pushing her arms through the sleeves of the blouse, fitting her wings through the slits in the back. The buttons were small and black, her fingers fumbling to fasten them all.

"Hmm…" Juliette kept staring, the sunlight brightening up her face and hair. The breeze blew at her loose curls playfully, and Alex looked over at her as she decided not to attempt to put on the tie.

"Let's go." Alex was anxious to find her soul. She felt so close now, and her heart fluttered within her chest. It kept her awake and fought away the dizziness.

Giving a nod as she turned, Juliette went out the door with Alex, leading the way. A few girls still watched Alex, but, besides her being the new girl, she guessed it to be that she had decided against the shoes, though she still wore the knee-highs. She figured that they would be enough. The black shoes weren't very good for running, and Alex was sure they would give her feet blisters. She was going to avoid putting them on as long as she could.

The two girls made their way to the classroom, Harper joining her later on. This hallway was empty, and Harper used the key to open the door, flicking the switch as they walked into the large, circular room full of shelves, desks with cauldrons, and an array of herbs and candles on the teacher's large desk. The shelves were full of dried herbs, velvet and silk scarves, candles, amber-colored jars of various oils, stones and gems, books, test tubes, flasks, hot plates, and graduated cylinders. To Alex, it looked like a mix of _Bill Nye_ and _Harry Potter_.

"What kind of herbs do we need?" questioned Harper as she placed the key on one of the student tables. She motioned for them to follow her to the teacher's desk, and Harper heaved a cauldron (about the size of a large soup bowl) onto it, carefully placing the mirror at the bottom.

Juliette closed her eyes and recited, "Bay laurel, hazel, rowan, and balm of Gilead."

As the herbs were listed, Harper got the correct jars from one of the shelves, placing them on the table and shoving over the herbs already there for tomorrow's lesson.

Looking over their space, the Notte added, "We also need some essential oils: heliotrope, acacia, lemon, and carnation."

These were listed slowly as Harper got the necessary vials from the shelves below the herbs.

"You also need to get some water that has absorbed the moon's energy for three lunar months. Is there some?"

She waited as Harper looked in some cabinets, nodding as she grabbed a capped graduated cylinder of clear liquid from a cabinet by the door.

"Boil it over an open flame while I tell Alex what to do. Since Alex is the one doing the scrying, she has to do the stirring. This way, the mirror will take in some of her energy."

Alex barely heard her as she stared at the oils and herbs. _This mix is gonna stink._ Her nose wrinkled as Juliette snapped twice to get her attention. "Sorry, what?"

"You have to do the stirring," Juliette repeated, looking impatient. "Get over here, and I'll tell you what to do. Harper, get a few stones please. We need jasper, black obsidian, and smoky quartz."

"No candles?" asked Harper as she got the stones.

"Not with a mirror, but burn some sandalwood incense and charge the caldron and mirror," Juliette answered, motioning for Harper to put the stones next to the herbs.

The blonde was clearing what the teacher had been keeping on the desk to make room for their supplies. She placed them on one of the lab tables and then turned to Alex. "Do as I tell you. Charms aren't like spells. They're pickier. They only use a minimum amount of energy from you, most of the energy coming from nature through the stones, herbs, and oils. There is a specific incantation and ingredients. Got it?"

Alex gave a nod and took a breath, standing behind the cauldron. She watched as Harper lit a light brown cone with a lighter, smoke soon twisting up away from the tip. The brunette grunted as she picked up the cauldron and passed it through the smoke slowly, making sure the smoke covered every portion of the dark surface. She then did the same with the mirror.

Taking care to do exactly as Juliette instructed, Alex carefully placed the three stones around the mirror in the cauldron, each having to face a different direction, depicted on the compass Harper had gotten in one of the drawers. She then carefully poured the oils over the mirror, three drops each. She used her index, middle, and ring fingers on her right hand to spread the oils over the surface of the mirror, the mixed scent wafting into her nostrils and mixing awkwardly with the scent of the sandalwood incense.

Next came the herbs, the leaves needing to be crushed into powder with a glass mortar and pestle. The rowan berries were tiny and dry, though, and Alex was instructed to take six and hold them in the hand she used to spread the oils, holding them above the cauldron for a bit while taking deep breaths and focusing putting her mental energy into the berries. She then dropped them into the cauldron, hearing them bouncing about the sides before finally settling at the bottom. Alex then took the herb mixture she had made and sprinkled a pinch over the top of her head, some at her feet, and the rest around and inside the cauldron.

Harper had boiled the water in a flask over a flame at one of the lab tables, and Alex added a drop of lemon essential oil to the water before taking it from her friend's hand. Swallowing, Alex slowly poured the hot water over the mirror. This had all taken about twenty to thirty minutes, Harper often going to the door to make sure no one was coming. As she watched, Juliette stood behind Alex, giving her instructions.

Once Juliette was done, the dark-skinned maln-grah closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, hands on either side of the caldron's mouth. She pictured white light trickling through the herbs on her head, purifying her and allowing her to become cleansed. She pictured the light flowing through her entire body. She allowed it to cover her like the safety of a blanket, and she could almost feel her _nazar_ humming against her chest.

_In, out… In, out…_, Alex told herself.

As the white light filled her being, Alex pictured any negative emotions within her leaving through her mouth as she exhaled. She pictured it as black mist that headed for the incense smoke. The smoke cleared away the mist, and only the light was left within Alex. For once in too long, she felt completely at peace, and Alex felt her lips move to the words Juliette told her to say before she even knew what it was she was saying.

"I ask for sight… I ask for knowledge… I ask for wisdom… Allow me these so I may find what it is I seek."

Eyes still closed, Alex only focused on her breathing and the white light that encompassed her.

"_Edrei, Divine of Fate,  
I call on you to show me the paths  
That I seek.  
Nakai, Divine of Guidance,  
Light the way I need to view.  
Karoumn, Divine of Knowledge,  
Help me gain the information  
That is needed.  
Pataraah, Divine of Insight,  
Show me how to use this information.  
Pourinan, Divine of Wisdom,  
Let me make decisions  
With this gift  
That will bring His and Her will._"

There was a slight tingling within Alex's chest, and it was tight as if trying to form a solid ball within her heart before it expanded and shot to her shoulders. She flinched slightly, the tingling travelling down her arms and out through her fingertips. Alex then began to open her eyes, picturing the light slowly flowing into her chest to form an orb before expanding into tendrils that followed the tingling to her shoulders, down her arms, and through her fingertips.

The light left her and entered the mirror, turning ice blue. It shone from the bottom of the caldron, and Alex opened her eyes fully, vision blurred as black stars drifted around the corners of her sight. She blinked them away and watched as the light got soaked into the mirror, and she smiled. Breathing deeply, her heart slowed to a flutter.

_Finally… I'm going to find my soul_.


	29. King of Wands

**Chapter 29: King of Wands**

"_So don't worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries." - Matthew 6:34_

As Professor Roux droned on, numbers sped through Alex's brain, giving her a headache. There were equations written down on the whiteboard up front, but the aging man's monotone made it impossible for the bored teenager to follow his lecture. He was going on about how numbers and equations fit into magic and how certain equations worked to create basic shields.

Most people in the class seemed bored out of their mind while the others attempted to take notes. Professor Roux did not seem to care one way or the other if his students listened, and his dull, slate-colored eyes looked just as bored as his unwavering tone suggested. Sitting in the back of the classroom, Alex had given up on listening to him.

Instead, she attempted to go through her memories to see if she could just remember these spells that would create shields and counter hexes and curses. The latter looked to be much more complicated, using trigonometry as well as some basic calculus. Since the vast majority weren't mathematicians, those studying defensive magic usually just memorized equations they needed and trained until the spells came to them upon instinct like the shield her dad had made during the earthquake. Alex had done nothing but add more energy to make it more powerful. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to do the same thing again. It'd been like muscle memory.

It was definitely confusing, and it looked like Alex had _never_ been the best at math. Like the majority, she had simply memorized the needed equations and formulas early on, and the spells eventually came on instinct. That made it much harder to go through them, and Alex was soon forced to give up.

Somehow, she'd been able to awaken her lost vocabulary of five different languages, but she wasn't able to dig up the exact equations other than a number or symbol here and there. Memory was a tricky thing, and it was starting to get on Alex's nerves. Rather than just simply remembering, it looked like she'd have to relearn it and let that dredge up the lost information.

She didn't feel happy about reading such a thick book though. She wanted to know without having to go back over the geometry she was supposed to learn last year or the trigonometry she had never _wanted_ to take. Defensive magic was starting to look much more like math than magic, and Alex had been disheartened to find out that it also included some physics as well.

_Looks like I'm not going to make good grades like Head Master Dupont wanted. _Alex bit the inside of her cheek, trying to listen to Professor Roux whenever she found herself zoning out.

"… though octagons are actually much better to use because of the eight sides, triangles are simpler and provide very good structural strength with an energy shield. If you notice different bridges and even some buildings, there are triangles because when the beams are laid in that way…"

Alex's mind started to drift off again, but her eyes stayed forward, the professor's husky voice not helping whatsoever in keeping her engaged.

Eyes flickering about, Alex saw that Justin was taking notes, typing as quickly as he could. Once in a while, he copied an image that would appear on the screen behind the professor, his finger clumsily drawing it on the screen before he dragged it to where he wanted it in his notes.

Mind going back to the mirror by her window in the dorm room, soaking in the sunlight, Alex's leg bounced. Her heart fluttered whenever she thought about finally finding her soul and placing it back within her. She had been able to feel it, but she was never able to pinpoint it. It was as if the water submerging her emotions was slowly getting clearer as it receded. Alex grasped the _nazar_ as she thought about it, her thumb running over the back of it. It sent a cool sensation through her arm, butterflies dancing through her stomach and up towards her throat.

Swallowing the butterflies, Alex tried to get back into the lesson but could never focus for more than a few seconds at a time. She needed to learn defensive magic, but Alex wanted to hurry up and make the different equations just an impulse as she had done in her last life. Those walls she had made in the forest, well, that had drained her of energy she needed to keep so she could stand a chance. Somehow, these equations and the sequence of numbers used were supposed to help conserve the caster's energy and bring forth energy from nature to keep the shield, wall, or whatever strong. Alex did not understand this, seeing as she had missed the first few weeks of class, and she had not been in a huge hurry to read the first and second chapters.

As the lecture stretched on, Alex turned her head to glance at the clock at the top corner of the huge screen. There was still a half-hour left of class.

Holding back a sigh of annoyance, Alex looked back at her text book and finally flipped to chapter one, noticing that there were several pages marked by different symbols before the chapter began. The first page held a list. It started with the number zero and went down to the number twenty-eight. Alex had no idea what was so special about these numbers, but, by each one, it said what the number stood for in a magical sense. The numbers were also listed in what looked like Japanese or Chinese (Alex couldn't tell the difference), Arabic, Greek, and another Asian text. Alex guessed that if the first was Japanese, then this was Chinese or vice versa.

In the explanation on the next page, Alex saw that those languages were somehow more connected to nature's energy, and, when drawn into a pattern or equation, could create a protective circle that is even stronger than that made with salt to channel energy. Numbers are very important in magic, and they give stability and strength to the protective elements of the universe. Alex mostly skimmed over the paragraph, noting that, along with many symbols, numbers written in one of the languages listed above had been made into charms over the years and had even been etched into candles and stones for certain spells—apparently, defensive magic wasn't the only type of magic that relied on math.

_Joy_, thought Alex bitterly as she looked back at the list of numbers.

_0 – infinity, everlasting, ongoing  
1 – summoning  
2 – warning  
3 – charms, enchantment  
4 – ending, death, destruction  
5 – elements, spirit, divine, harmony  
6 – creation, construction  
7 – balance, rest  
8 – life, longevity, protection  
9 – prosperity, enlightenment  
10 – balance, unity_

Alex began to see that some meanings of different numbers had overlapped, such as seven and ten. She did not ponder on it much, still wondering how she would be able to memorize the meanings of _twenty-eight_ numbers—twenty-nine including zero. She couldn't just write them all on her arm, like with her history, trig, or anatomy quizzes.

Unfortunately, life didn't have as many cheat sheets as school did. Alex couldn't just break into a teacher's classroom or an office to find out all the answers. She wanted to, but there was no way for that to happen. She, instead, decided to only memorize the numbers she figured she would be most likely using: zero, three, five, eight, ten, twelve, twenty-four, and twenty-eight.

Since eight was protection, Alex guessed that she would be using that the most, but twenty-eight had to do with peace, twelve with strength, and twenty-four with stability. Those should all really help, and Alex tucked that away in her mind, not even bothering to learn the numerals in the languages listed.

That would be a little too much for her. She figured she could probably use a charm, like a ring or something, but she wasn't sure how much they cost, where to buy it, or even what the currency was!

She exhaled slowly upon these thoughts, her fingers going to her hairclip as she sorted through her thoughts. Just waiting around was almost as painful as that fight back in the forest in New York—or waking up to find that a lightning bolt had been shot through her body.

Her leg began to bounce faster, and her knee was barely an inch away from hitting the bottom of the desk. Her heel never touched the ground as her leg bounced, and her wings began to feel cramped. She needed to spread them out, and she was so glad that there would be forty minutes for the students to study and socialize. The muscles running through her wings twitched at the thought, and Alex almost didn't care that she was wearing a skirt—she was wearing shorts underneath anyway.

She daydreamed about flying, trying to remember the last time she had stretched her wings. Alex had been so freaked out the first time they appeared, but, now, they just felt… right.

After the initial fear of the first day, flight had been so exhilarating. There had been an adrenaline rush Alex was sure was equal to that of sky diving. It wasn't as big as the adrenaline rush she had gotten the first time, but her in the wind with nothing between her and the ground… It got her heart beating and focused in her senses.

As Alex daydreamed, the bell rang, and her head jerked up as everyone began to file out of the door, clearly just as sick with math as Alex was. She took up her textbook and laptop case and began to follow Max out of the room when Professor Roux called over to her.

"Miss Leblanc, come over here, if you please," he requested, tapping on his desk to get everything on the board to disappear.

Stopping, Alex turned to look at the professor, wondering if he noticed that she hadn't been listening. Max stood next to her for a while, and Justin and Juliette waited at the door. Alex motioned that they could go, and Juliette pulled Justin away. Max hesitated, then left after giving Alex a quick but tight hug.

Alex couldn't believe how Max acted now. Justin had even said that Max was keeping his side of the room _clean_. Alex watched as her little brother left, feeling horrible that he had to go through all of this. She wasn't sure if he understood everything. Most of the time, he was just walking around like a zombie, brain fried.

_Watch over him. Please._ Alex wasn't sure who she was praying to, but it made her feel a little better as she made her way towards Professor Roux's desk. "Yes, Professor?"

Standing upright, Professor Roux met Alex's eyes, a few strands of dark brown hair falling over his thin face. "There is someone here to see you." He paused, and then sighed, his index and middle fingers going up to his left temple as if to keep down a headache. "You _were _supposed to go to Head Master Dupont's office, but… she requested to come see _you_ as to not take out too much time of your free period."

"Who…?" Alex stopped upon hearing someone walk in through the door. The steps were light, but Alex could hear the subtle **clack, clack** of narrow heels. She quickly turned, her eyes going wide as her text book fell from her grip. "Natasha?!"

"How come you don't look happy to see me?" the woman joked, flashing her fangs as she approached Alex. "It's alright, Miquel. We won't be killing each other, so you can go ahead and leave. This is a private matter."

Sounding irritated, Professor Roux muttered something under his breath as he left, and Alex tried to keep her lips from turning up in a smile at the words. She looked down and picked up her book when Natasha turned her head to yell something at the tall man.

"Just because I don't understand Wizarn, doesn't mean I don't know you're insulting me!" she shouted. She then sighed and sat at the corner of the desk. She sat up straight as Alex stood up.

She was wearing calf-high boots with heels that measured about two inches, and ebony leggings disappeared under the boots. She also wore a loose, lantern-sleeved tunic with a telling bump over her left hip. She was armed.

Giving a smile, she greeted, "Hey, how are you doing?" She then snapped, the door closing at her command. She snapped again, and the lock clicked into place.

"Uh…" Alex turned to look at the door and remembered to switch back into Etan. "Good… I guess…"

"Well, you're probably wondering why I'm here."

"Kinda." Alex turned back to meet Natasha's eyes. The skin around them was a little darker than usual, and the usual dusting of red on her cheeks was barely noticeable now. "Is something going on?"

Cracking her neck, Natasha exhaled softly as Alex flinched. "Sorry, habit. This job can take a lot out of you. I'm glad to see you got your necklace. I used the Alicorn of Luna to charm that thing, and some other commanders helped make sure it was full of protective magic. Hopefully, it's been keeping the Evils' eyes off of you." The look on her face turned solemn, and she turned to look at a small shelf of books.

"How are you here?" Alex questioned. "You said—"

"The other commanders agreed to let me speak to you, since this piece of information is only known by a small handful of people. I'm not sure if even Set or those others know." Her voice was softer. It sounded as if she was contemplating on whether she should risk saying this aloud.

"What?" Alex grew worried.

"It's about Idolon."

"Wha… what about her? Is she going to take over again?" Alex's heart began hammering within her chest. She could not stand the thought of Idolon coming back. Last time that happened, it had been a disaster.

"As long as you wear that necklace, she shouldn't, but time can be the only test." Natasha's usual confidence had faded, leaving behind uncertainty. Her eyes glazed over as she thought about something, and she seemed to not want to make eye contact with Alex. "It's about her origins. It's about why it's so important that you find your soul—well, besides the obvious."

"Natasha, what's going on?" Alex needed her to get right to it. It didn't seem like Natasha's style to tiptoe around things. This information must be earthshaking for Natasha to attempt walking over eggshells instead of just breaking them all at once.

"You know what a time paradox, is right?"

"No."

This didn't sound good.

A humorless smile came to Natasha's face. "That just makes this explanation a little harder then." She took a deep breath and turned back around to face Alex. "I'll skip the scientific explanations even _I_ barely understand and just get to the gist of it."

She took another deep breath, pausing for a few seconds that ticked by like hours before she continued: "Idolon's not some separate personality like you or Joan believed. It's much more complicated than that. Basically, there's an alternate reality, to put it into simple terms. In a different past, you, Seraphina, defeated Set and ruled over the Unspeakables. As time went on, your hunger for power grew, and you took over the rest of Tartarus and led the Evils against us. You…" She licked her lips. "You took over all the dimensions except for Mzrisknu. This was the only dimension left for you to claim. It was a vicious battle, and even the Guardians, Seraphims, Kinsamas, and Einharuns joined at our side. It was chaos to say the least.

"There's a reason why the Guardians and them don't usually fight alongside us Purities. That ultimate battle is the sign of the End Times. In that alternate reality, it probably was. The battle waged for decades. Oceans began to dry as lakes and rivers turned to blood. Fire rained from the skies. Earthquakes tore through whole planets. Mountains crumbled. Stars exploded. Black holes swallowed up whole civilized planets. Entire _galaxies_ were near-destroyed. Then, you stole two of the Gems from us, completing the Seven. With them, you summoned the Aurora Talisman to take over the rest. To make Akanolatah and Anatolsiskan clash. To have the Divines and the Archdemons to fight among the mortals. The chaos would leave you as the leader of the entire cosmos.

"But Atol Sataruskasenka tried to stop you. The two of you fought long and hard as the battle waged on, many of us perishing to try and protect what was left of the cosmos. Atol finally broke the Aurora Talisman. Each gem in the talisman broke into shards that were shot through time and space to become a part of a person's Soulstone, giving them a type of power that comes from the element each shard had been crafted from. That was when you realized that your power to control Blackfire had come from one of these shards. You then killed Atol, who was weak from breaking the talisman, and quickly grabbed the Gem of Thought before it could disappear. You then put your soul, spirit, and mind into the Gem and touched the time element to be sent back into your past self from centuries ago—when you first started planning to overthrow Set.

"The battle came to a standstill when the leader of the Evils 'died', but then an alternate reality had begun to form. Idolon is you from the End Times alternate future. She wants you to gather up the shards to recreate the Aurora Talisman. This, in turn, would create the ultimate time paradox. Having _two_ Aurora Talismans in existence would create even _more_ chaos than even that battle. She'd rule over the cosmos. She wanted to be higher than Leorensenka and Tisanisenka , and this is her plan to do so. But… something happened."

"Set imprisoned me," Alex finished when Natasha paused again. Her eyes stung, and her mind whirled.

"Time had changed," Natasha whispered, giving a nod. "You were sent to a mortal family, and the Einharuns worked hard to give you a connection to your soul—to give you a developing conscience. They couldn't just give you your soul right then, though. You were a baby. Idolon could have corrupted you early. They wanted you to learn right from long before you found your soul. That way, you could fight Idolon and keep her future from happening." The glaze over Natasha's eyes was gone, and it seemed as if she were finally seeing Alex. "You were given a second chance."

Alex was crying now, but she did not make a sound as she bit down on her lip. She did not bother to wipe away her tears, and she soon felt Natasha's warm arms around her. They stayed that way for some time before Natasha let go and got a few tissues from the desk. She handed them to Alex, who took them gratefully. She did not want to walk out of that room with tears running down her cheeks. She heard Natasha sigh as she wiped away her tears.

"You needed to know about that. I'm sorry, Alex. I know it's a lot to take in."

"How can that all happen?"

"Like I said, I don't know all the scientific stuff Stanton, Castell, and Titus tried to tell me about, but I do know that this is what had happened. Most of the Purities don't know about it. It's an alternate reality, so that makes sense. The only reason I remember is because…"

"You were dead," Alex finished.

"Yeah." Natasha stood up and away from the desk. "Try not to tell anyone this. We don't know how, but the Evils would somehow use all this against us. Go and find your soul, and—"

"I can't act like this isn't the worst news I've heard in my entire life or that I'm not about to fall apart!" Alex exclaimed, her throat feeling sore.

"I'm not asking you too," Natasha quickly assured. "Just keep this information to yourself. Don't even tell your brothers. Even more information can put them into even more danger."

"More danger than what's already happened?" Alex's laugh held no humor.

"Yes, believe it or not," Natasha answered with a seriousness that made Alex step back. "We have scouts and protectors keeping a close watch on the castle. Now, go on. I can't stay here long. Here." She bent down and took out a clasp bracelet identical to Sakura's out of her boot. "Just press that center design, and you'll be connected straight to me. You don't have enough time to learn all the codes, so just say 'help' and I'll know you're in danger. Don't try to play the hero. You're still learning your strengths and weaknesses." There was dead seriousness in her eyes, and Alex nodded as she took the bracelet and clasped it onto her left wrist. "Bye." Natasha gave Alex another tight hug, but Alex didn't return it.

Without a word, Alex got her tote bag, went over to the door, unlocked it, and left. Her head was down as she made her way down the echoing halls to meet up with Harper at a place she had been told about last night before she, Harper, and Juliette left the charm room. Alex already knew that Juliette wasn't joining them, and Alex was glad about that. She could not believe the monster she had been.

She felt like punching a wall, but she fought the urge. She would just fly for a while. That should help clear her mind.

On a platform that looked like one sentries may had once looked out for intruders on, Alex spread her wings as the wind blew. She, Harper, Max, and a few other students were on the platform, which had since been converted into a hang-out with two vending machines, a few circular tables, and some benches. It was on the third story near the west tower, and Harper and Max watched intently as Alex stepped onto the bench, dropping her bag onto it and tucking in her wings. She felt more eyes on her as she stepped onto the edge that was as nearly twice as wide as her small feet were long. Taking a breath, she dived off of the edge, pushing off hard with her legs.

"A… Claire!" She heard Harper run up to the edge, but Alex was quickly approaching the ground head-first, hearing many screams and exclamations as she fell, her lips in a straight line as she thought about what Natasha had said to her.

Once she was about six feet away from the garden, Alex snapped out her wings, the sound sharp in her ears as her muscles strained, bones feeling like they'd been popped out of place for a second. Her back quickly arched as her wings stretched, bringing her body back upwards at an angle. She heard a few snorts of people calling her a show-off, but she ignored them, twirling through the air and working on maneuvers she had only been able to do in her mind.

Alex found that she could not really hover, but she worked on soaring, using her legs as rudders. She also found that if she kept her body at an angle, she could go into the pattern of falling a foot, then giving a hard flap to rise again. It wasn't hovering like she had seen with humming birds, but it was close enough. It was tougher than just circling back, so Alex decided to work on her turns for a few minutes. Before heading back down towards the platform, she did a few acrobatics, hoping to get enough adrenaline flowing to numb any of the pain that had come from the new pieces of information.

After doing one more backflip, Alex landed on the ledge in a crouch as she tucked in her wings. She jumped back onto the platform, the six students she didn't know looking away so it looked as if they hadn't been gawking at her. Harper and Max ran over towards her, and Harper drew a five-pointed star over her heart.

"Senka Divines, don't scare me like that!" Her words came out as a gasp, and she took a few more breaths before speaking again. "Okay, sorry. I'm just not used to this. Last I saw you, you hadn't even been up on a plane, let alone flying with _wings_." She spoke softly in Etan.

"That was so cool!" Max went over to look over the edge of the platform, and Harpers palm went to her forehead as she sighed.

Alex only smiled, feeling her anxiety slowly slipping away. She was glad to see that even at a time like this, Max was still Max.

"Hey, M… Marcel," Harper called, making sure to call him by his alias, "Claire and I need to head back to her room for a while. Why don't you go find Juste and Jacquenette?"

Turning around, a questioning glint lit up Max's eyes. "Why can't I go with you two?"

Eyebrows raised, Harper and Alex gave each other a look. When they looked back at Max, Alex answered, "Girls' dorm? Max, you'll be thrown into detention as soon as you get within spitting distance of the wing." She looked over at Harper. "Is there detention here?"

"Not like at Tribeca," Harper replied. "You either get stuck with cleaning duty, kitchen duty, or something along those lines. Three weeks ago, I had to dig through trash to separate the recyclables some people throw away because I had too many tardies." She caught Alex's look. "You try having all your classes on opposite ends of the castle! Luckily, most of the teachers let it slide when I have to run through the hallways just to get from one class to the other."

"Okay, fine," Max said, pouting. "I'll go find the lovebirds." He began to walk away, looking back only to give Alex a small smile as he snatched up his bag.

Smiling, the two girls got their bags. They made their way down to the girls' wing, and Alex's heart thudded in anticipation. It had been hours that the mirror had been soaking up sunlight and moonlight, but Juliette had told her to wait until after sunset. It was a waning gibbous tonight, and Juliette had said that the phases of the moon had a great impact on magic—something about how the moon pulled on the tides and how that influenced the planet's magnetic field.

Or something like that. Alex had tuned her out after being told that she would have to wait until after dinner.

In Alex's room, the mirror glinted in the sunlight pouring in through the open window, and Alex set her stuff down onto her bed and grabbed the small bottle of vanilla essential oil on her nightstand. Harper hadn't liked the idea of taking it, but Alex had convinced her that it wasn't really stealing, since they were going to give it back (eventually). The sweet scent rose to tickle Alex nose as she unscrewed the top, which doubled as an eyedropper. Alex squeezed one drop onto the center of the mirror, and then set aside the bottle.

"Juliette said to use your Jupiter and Saturn fingers to rub it around and to go in a clockwise motion," Harper reminded, watching from Alex's desk. She had switched to Etan again.

"I remember." Alex followed the instructions, breathing deeply as she did so.

There wasn't any kind of shimmer or sparkle to let Alex know if she did it correctly, but the slight buzz in her chest where her _nazar_ lay seemed to say that Alex was doing well. When she was done, she closed the bottle and grasped her charm as she went to place the oil back into the drawer of her nightstand. There was no more buzz, and Alex wondered if she had imagined it. It was still cooler than room temperature, offering a comforting feeling as she held onto it.

"We have twenty minutes of free time left," Harper stated. "What do you want to do?"

"Can we get something to eat?" Alex asked. "I'm starving."

Giving a laugh, Harper replied, "Surprise, surprise."

**xxx**

Pale white light filtered into the room from Selene's chariot, taking over the sky as Helios rode away. The light cut across Alex's features. She sat about two feet away from the window. Harper was sitting right under the window with her back pressed against the wall, and Juliette was to Alex's right to create an equilateral triangle between the three girls, the mirror in the center. This was supposed to be the last step of the charm before the scrying mirror could be used. It usually worked better with five, six, or nine people, but three could work just as well. Alex had wanted Justin and Max to come so they could have five people, but there hadn't been any way to get them into the room without any of the teachers finding out. They knew the plan though, and Justin had told Alex to let him know as soon as possible where her soul was hidden. He had promised to help her in any way that he could.

"You have the salt?" Juliette's question was directed to Alex, but she was staring at the mirror.

"Yeah, I took some extra packets in the dinner line."

Juliette hadn't specified exactly how much salt was needed, so Alex had grabbed ten packets just to be safe. When she swallowed, she found that her mouth had gone dry. After that talk she got from Natasha, Alex had been even more determined to find her soul. She had to fight Idolon and win. There was no compromise with this one. One of them was going to go, and Alex was going to make sure that it was "the bitch in her head" to quote Natasha.

"Good." Juliette's eyes stayed on the mirror. "You only need a handful."

Nodding, Alex got out the packets and began to empty all the salt in to her left hand. She only needed to use four of the packets, so she tossed the other six onto her bed. She then reached forward to sprinkle the salt around the mirror in a circle moving clockwise, just as Juliette had instructed earlier.

She made the line of salt fairly thick, and when the salt was gone, she leaned back, asking, "Now what?"

"Meditate for a few moments, picturing the light you did back in the charm room. You have to go through that same process, and then blow away the salt," Juliette instructed. "Pretend it's like blowing out your birthday candles. All in one breath."

Taking a deep breath, Alex straightened her spine and closed her eyes. She pictured the white light falling from above and filling her entire body. She pictured her negative energies leaving her mouth and travelling over towards the dark blue column candle sitting atop the windowsill. The dark mist was fed into the flame, and Alex's _nazar_ hummed as she breathed, allowing the white light to fill her completely.

Once again, she felt as if she were in total peace. She almost smiled before making the light bind together into a ball within her chest. She held the light there for a second, feeling its power before letting it go slowly. It split like a forked river, travelling to her shoulders, down her arms, and out her outstretched fingers. The light stopped at the ring of salt and spun through it, making the minerals glow in Alex's mind's eye. The light then seeped into the mirror, and Alex took another deep breath before leaning forward to blow away the salt, making the particles scatter.

Eyes open, Alex looked at the mirror, heart pounding. She took it into her hands when Juliette gave a nod, focusing on touching the psychic element. It was elusive, but it wasn't too long before fog began to appear in the surface of the mirror, proving that it was working. The fog was pale blue, and Alex focused on an image. Because Idolon and she were the same person, she was sure that their souls were identical. The only difference was the core. In her memories, Alex saw that the core of her Soulstone shifted between three different colors: light blue, silver-grey, and mauve. It wasn't metallic white like Idolon's. So Alex pictured her Soulstone clearly, staring into the mirror.

With her focus on the mirror, Alex didn't even notice that the other two had scooted to be on either side of her until they spoke up.

"I don't see anything," Harper whispered.

"Shh!" Juliette hissed. "She has to concentrate."

Swallowing, Alex kept that picture in her mind, and the fog in the mirror began to swirl and shift. An image began to come forth, but it was blurry. The colors were blue, a few shades darker than the fog, and black. Alex wrinkled her brow, straining her mind. Soon, the colors formed a clearer picture through the fog. It was an iris and pupil suspended in the fog, and Alex dropped the mirror, eyes and mouth wide in shock.


	30. Eight of Wands

**Chapter 30: Eight of Wands**

"_The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery." - Anaïs Nin_

Alex did not want to be in class. She wanted to find out how she could get her soul out of her _nazar_. She had been fiddling with the charm all day. How could Natasha not have known that her soul was in it? Or had she just wanted to make Alex work for it?

Like some sort of test.

Did they want her to prove that she could get her soul back? What kind of sadistic test was _that_?! No one should dangle someone's soul right in front of her—especially when it couldn't even be seen by the person it belonged to!

Alex just wanted to figure out how she could get her soul so she could be that much closer to defeating Idolon. She barely heard the professor as he lectured.

She needed… what? A spell? A charm? A potion?

A miracle? That sounded about right.

She could break it, but would that get the soul back into her body, or would that just ruin her chances of _ever_ getting it back? Alex didn't know, and this wasn't something she was willing to make huge risks with. This was something she could not gamble with. It made her anxious, her heart pounding whenever the thought of getting her soul free from the charm entered her mind. Her ears were shut off from the lecture. The only thing that seemed important was the thing hidden in her Evil Eye charm.

Everything that Natasha had told Alex raced through her mind. Idolon was her from an alternative future, where Set had been defeated and she controlled the Four Evils. Alex shivered upon thinking about how close Idolon had come to ruling everything and everyone. Her heart pounded when she realized that Atol, in that horrible future, had been the one to stop her. Now, Idolon was coming close to her goal once again. She was conniving and manipulative. It was terrifying how similar she and Alex were.

Yes, they were technically the same person, but this time paradox thing had Alex perplexed beyond reason. It was easier to think of the two as completely different entities. It also made it easier to think about fighting her and possibly having to kill her.

How would that work? How could any of this be happening? It shouldn't be possible, right?

_Ugh!_ thought Alex, trying not to grasp her head in pain. _I hate this!_

Life was anything but simple, but that didn't mean it had to be this complicated. Everywhere she turned, there were more and more questions, branching off of one another and refusing to show her to where their ever-elusive counterparts were hidden.

She could ask Juliette. The Notte had known how to create the scrying mirror, so she could be able to figure something out with the _nazar_, right?

Alex was completely stumped. As far as all the professors knew, there was no spell or charm in existence that could rip a person's soul right out of his or her body. Many of them probably didn't even _believe_ in souls. Why did everything have to be so hard? Alex had never needed to think this much back in Manhattan. She had simply let the tide carry her where it wished, only breaking away when she found something she wanted. Her schemes had always taken her through the easiest route to get to that goal. Sure, many had backfired, but there were those that had worked out perfectly and without detection even to this day.

Now, however, Alex was being forced to be careful. She was being forced to take the longer, more difficult path most others preferred to avoid. There were obstacles everywhere, and what she felt like to be her grand prize was only the half of it. After that, the second, darker leg of the race began. There was no telling what waited for her, crouching in the shadows with sadistic looks painted over those nightmarish faces. They stalked by the leering trees and twisting roots, just waiting for her to make sure she failed.

Alex refused to fail, but she was petrified. There was no telling what was going to happen, and it was because of her everyone was put into danger. She'd never been one for self-pity or self-loathing, but she couldn't seem to help it. All those faces kept resurfacing to her consciousness, refusing to let her forget what she once was.

She just wanted to forget—put the past behind her and focus on what was ahead. Only, could she do it? Was it the best thing to do? Alex couldn't just think about herself anymore, and having all this weight on her shoulders was beginning to crush her. When her mind began to wander, it became harder to breathe, and she felt like it was a battle just to place one foot in front of the other. She had to focus on breathing. She had to focus on her heartbeat. She had to focus on the hum of her _nazar_.

Was that humming her soul then? It made sense, and Alex had been mentally slapping herself all day for not seeing it sooner. It'd been given to her by Jasmine. Natasha said that only a few had been entrusted with the knowledge of Alex's soul, which hadn't included her. Could Jasmine be one of those few? What about the dream? Atol had given it to her in the dream, and it had then appeared in her hand when she awoke. How else could it do that unless it was actually her soul, an object that existed beyond mortal limitations?

Had Atol known what the charm was upon giving it to her? It had burned his hand. Was that because of the enchantments placed on it or the fact it held her soul? Maybe both? What motivation had he to give it to her? Did he _truly_ want to help her? Why, if she had betrayed him so horribly in the past? He no longer had the ability to feel love. He shouldn't be able to feel pity. Then why? Or had he _not_ known? Then, he just saw it and knew that it was supposed to guard her from the Evil Eye? Still, Alex couldn't see his motivation.

It didn't seem to matter much to the current situation either way. She had the charm, and she now had to figure out how to retrieve what it'd been hiding for so long.

**xxx**

"What do you mean you don't know a spell?" Alex whispered harshly in Etan during free period. She was sitting on the ledge on the balcony she had jumped off of just the other day, Juliette on the bench with Harper next to her. She had already told them about the _nazar_, and both agreed that it made sense. Unfortunately, neither knew of anything that could retrieve the soul.

"I don't know everything!" Juliette whispered just as harshly, her Magic Theory II book open to chapter four in her lap. "This kind of magic is ancient and powerful. I only know a few stories from my parents, but they only mentioned that type of spell in passing."

Harper closed her Molecular Biology book, looking like she figured she wouldn't be getting any studying done anyway. "I think I've heard a few of those stories in Faerie-tales. In all of them, it was the person that hid the soul that put in a way for it to come out and go back to the person it belongs to. Like in 'SoullessPrince'." She caught their blank looks. "It's a Faerie-tale mostly told in Elf books. My mom had told me it when I was little. It's about a prince of some ancient kingdom from long before the Blood War. His soul had been stolen when he was a child, and he ended up taking over the kingdom while he still didn't have his soul. Then, though, this girl that had fallen in love with him searched for his soul and found the dark-worker that had stolen it."

"Then what?" Alex was leaning forward, interested. This may be a story, but it was the closest thing she had to finding out how to get her soul out of the charm hanging around her neck.

Putting the text book into her satchel, Harper was silent a few moments before replying, "Turns out the dark-worker had been supposed to take the throne until the prince was born. The dark-worker had hidden the prince's soul in a gold coin. The girl was able to get it after answering the riddle told by the dragon guarding it, but she didn't know how to get the prince's soul out. She gave it to him, though, and he ordered for the dark-worker to be brought to him. She was captured and brought to the castle, but she wouldn't say anything. The prince, though, looked over the coin and knew the dark-worker and how she thought. He then placed the coin in his mouth, right on his tongue. That broke the spell, and his soul was returned. The prince then had the dark-worker punished by having molten lead spilled over her head, turning her into a statue placed into one of the towers."

Thinking about the punishment, Alex flinched. Weren't fairytales supposed to be full of sunshine and rainbows and ending with "And they all lived happily ever after"?

"So there's supposed to be some sort of way to get my soul out like putting it on my tongue or something?" Alex questioned, raising her eyebrows. It was so simple, yet difficult as well. There were infinite possibilities.

After thinking for a moment, Harper gave a hesitant nod. "That's how it is in the Faerie-tales, but there's another—'The Dryad'—where the way to get the soul out of the object was some kind of spoken invocation. It's never very complicated, and in that Faerie-tale, the dark-worker had given the person clues by saying the invocation right in front of his face. It wasn't until the end, though, that he realized what it was and said it to the object to get his soul back and rescue the princess."

Face going into her hands, Alex mumbled, "This is so hard…"

"Well," Juliette gave a shrug, "you just need to figure out who put your soul into the charm. That'll give you the biggest clue. Then, you can try and think back to what they've said to you."

Looking up, Alex gave her a look that said, "You're kidding me, right?"

The blonde merely shrugged. "Hey, it's a start."

"Do you have any clues to who?" inquired Harper.

"Just one," Alex sighed. "Jasmine." She saw Harper's perplexed look and quickly explained, "An Eagleite with the Purities. She's the one that gave me the _nazar_ in the first place."

It'd been after that battle with the Evils, which had been staged just to replace Joan with Yin, and Alex shivered as she remembered the whole thing. It was yet another memory that refused to leave the confines of her mind, but Alex couldn't remember her exact words as Jasmine handed her the _nazar_.

She'd taken Alex's hand into hers to present it to her, and she'd said something about people believing it kept away the Evil Eye. That _was_ what she said, right? She'd said something about it protecting Alex from the Evils, who may be watching her, but the teenager couldn't remember any of the exact words. She'd been pumped with too much adrenaline, mind reeling and heart thudding within her chest. She'd been twitchy and scared and guilty. She'd felt torn and confused. There'd been way too much going on for her to focus on words that hadn't held too much significance to her at the time. Jasmine _had_ to have known that, right?

Did that mean she'd said the invocation at some other time? While they were flying? They hadn't spoken much, though. She'd told Alex not to dwell on it too much when the frightened girl had only nodded in answer. The Eagleite had told her that there was sometimes no other choice, that there was no such thing as pure black and pure white in their world. Before becoming silent, she'd said Alex should find someone to talk to—someone who would understand and listen.

Still, Alex could not remember her exact words. The wind whipping past them as they flew had stolen much of her voice, which was why she had needed to shout. Again, Alex had still been in shock, which the woman had to have known.

What about in the van? Alex had slept through much of it, but there'd been a couple times Jasmine had spoken, right? There was when she told them all they were going to fly out of New York City, the pixies working their magic to help. There'd also been when she tossed those pills to Alex, telling her to take two to curb her hunger and give her nutrients. That was it.

Was there anything else? For the life of her, Alex just couldn't remember. It was hard to remember things word for word. She could only recall the gist of what had been said. She also couldn't remember any specific gestures Jasmine may have made that could be clues to something physical Alex would have to do with the _nazar_ to break the spell. She remembered that Jasmine always covered her mouth and nose. Was that a clue, or was it just something she did?

Also, was Jasmine even the one that had cast the spell?

_It could have been Natasha_, Alex reminded herself.

The woman had looked truthful when she said that she didn't even know who did the spell, but Alex wasn't sure how to tell if someone was telling the truth anymore. Could it be _she_ had hidden it and just said she didn't, because she knew Alex was supposed to find it herself for the spell to be broken? It was definitely odd that the _High Commander of the Purities_ wouldn't know the whereabouts of Seraphina Sataruskasenka's soul.

Or it could be that it'd been the High Commander _before_ her had known? How long had Natasha been High Commander, anyway? Alex couldn't recall, and her head was beginning to hurt with all of the questions racing through her mind.

As she thought, Harper spoke up: "Class will be starting soon, Claire."

Eyes snapping up, Alex was shoved back into the present. "Oh… Sorry. This is all just so frustrating!" She groaned and hopped onto the ground, snatching up the tote bag.

"Ugh, I nearly fell asleep in our last class!" Juliette moaned. "Magic Theory is almost as boring as when my dad tried teaching it."

"How exactly did that work out?" Harper walked with Juliette and Alex as they entered the building.

"Not well," Juliette sighed. She then gave a half-smile that looked sad, eyes distant. "He's always been eccentric, and he goes off on tangents a lot."

Harper placed a hand onto the Notte's shoulder, offering a smile. "You'll see him again soon. I'm sure of it."

Her own brown eyes seemed haunted, more than likely thinking about her own father. None of them knew about what had happened after the earthquake. Harper didn't even know if her parents were alive. She'd tried contacting them on something called a nova-phone, which she was only allowed to use in emergencies. There'd been no answer, and Harper had begun to assume the worst. It made Alex feel so helpless. She was so wrapped up in her own problems, she couldn't even comfort her best friend. It was all so horrible, and Alex often found herself praying to whoever was listening that Harper's parents were alive and well. She prayed for no more destruction, but she knew that it was a futile wish.

The three were silent as they walked, Harper breaking off at the end of the hallway as Alex and Juliette hurried to get to class. As they walked, Alex caught the narrowed, azure eyes of Madalene as she walked along side of her friend with dirty blonde hair—Gabrielle. Those two were always giving Alex nasty looks, and, ever since blowing her off that first day, Madalene had seemed to grow more hostile. She'd once knocked a book from Alex's arms, making it land on her foot. She'd scowled at the maln-grah and had even "accidentally" spilled her drink over Alex's wings at lunch today.

With everything going on, Alex was _not_ in the mood for a mage version of Gigi. There were much more important things on her mind, but she couldn't help but get a chill down her spine as she met those deep, almost endless, eyes filled with the darkest of emotions Alex couldn't begin to understand.


	31. Three of Cups

**Chapter 31: Three of Cups**

"_A major difficulty is that the answer to the Riddle of the Sphinx is partly a product of the answers that we already have given to the riddle in its various forms." - Gregory Bateson_

The books that should be looked over along with the notes that should be studied were scattered on the floor by the desk as Alex sat in the chair, face in her palms. Pinned to the wooden surface of the large desk was a composition notebook, open to the first page with the list of names Alex had put together just last night. There were only six names on it thus far, but there were nearly twelve pages of stuff these people had said as well as gestures they had made that could point towards clues. Only a small number were direct quotations, as Alex's mind was too muddled to remember much word for word. All the letters were small and cramped, hurried as if they'd been jotted down as quickly as possible so that they could not escape the mind before being thrown down onto the page.

Even though meditation, Alex struggled to remember everything. It was probably because she was trying to force it, but she couldn't bring herself to calm down. This was all so stressful, and she couldn't even be bothered with schoolwork right now. She hadn't gotten past page three of _The Sound and the Fury_, and those equations for Beginners Defensive Magic and trig remained undone.

She still hardly knew anything about the history of Luçade, or even where it was on the map of this world. The professors here probably thought her to be just as hopeless as the teachers back in Tribeca Prep, but that didn't matter right now. There was just this list and the pages of possible clues. There was only the mission. There was only her versus Idolon and needing to get the advantage.

Starting in Casting II the day before, Alex had begun to get a pounding headache. It had been hardly noticeable at first, but it'd begun to grow as time went on. She'd been given some sort of herbal tea by Justin at dinner, but Alex had only been able to stomach half of it. Harper had then made her a paste made of ginger powder mixed with honey. It had looked like puke, but Alex had decided to use it anyway, gingerly smearing it over her forehead. The ginger had stung her skin and had made it feel like her forehead was burning for the first few minutes, but it'd helped some for close to an hour. Only, this was no ordinary headache.

After she had washed off the goo, the pain had returned with a vengeance. The headache was deep, as if starting from the core with a few taps, each one causing ripples that grew in intensity before reaching her skull. It'd been as she lay down to sleep the night before that she realized the pain was being caused by Idolon. She was awake and trying to fight her way out of that dark room connecting their minds.

She couldn't break the seal on the door, due to the _nazar_ according to Natasha, but it still scared Alex to death. She couldn't imagine what would happen if Idolon got out again. It wouldn't take long for her to realize that the charm held Alex's soul. She may even know how to get it out, having the ultimate power over Alex.

That couldn't happen. Alex refused to let it happen, but that meant she needed to get her soul first. She and Idolon may not be completely equal when matched against one another, but getting her soul back might just help Alex rise towards the demoness's level.

Taking deep breaths through her mouth, Alex removed her face from her hands, eyes tearing up from the intense pain raging throughout her skull. She swallowed and tried to forget about it, reading over the list again.

_1) Jasmine  
2) Natasha  
3) Elias  
4) Toris  
5) Sakura  
6) Joan_

After Joan, Alex added Joseph's name. He'd come to the substation with Toris and could possibly know about her soul as well. Joan seemed like a major suspect when Alex thought about it. She'd been trusted to watch over her; she'd been with her as a pet cat since her Sweet Sixteen. The majority of the pages held things Joan had done or said, seeing as she'd been with Alex the longest.

On one of the pages was a mention of the journal, but it had then been crossed out an hour later. The journals were letters, the one in that tote bag being the latest group of them. According to what Alex had read, Joan had already sent off the other journals to her friends. The one lost in the rubble had been for someone named Catrin—someone easily angered based on all the apologies Joan had written in those first paragraphs.

It wasn't the journal then. That was something private as well as a way for Joan to keep her mental and emotional state stable. There couldn't be anything written in any of them meant for Alex. That meant there had to have been something she said or gestured. Gestures were usually hard to remember, especially since some of the people on the list had a tendency to talk with their hands. It was Toris and Joan that did not do so, Joan usually sitting and standing straight with hands at her sides of on her lap. Toris had usually kept his hands crossed over his chest or by his sides, though he'd shrug a shoulder, lift an arm up slightly or raise his fingers during certain parts of his speech. It was like he had spoken with his hands once upon a time but had gone through discipline to try and stop.

Natasha had reminded Alex of her Grandma Russo, who had come over for Thanksgiving a couple of times. Each time she ate dinner with the petite woman, Alex always found herself wondering if she was so skinny because of the fact she spoke too much at dinner for enough food to make it into her mouth.

The Wizard hadn't been used to quiet dinner tables, and Alex smiled at the memory of her exclaiming, "Finally! Some emotion!" in accented English when Justin made an angry outburst when Alex flung a meatball at him, setting the course for a short food fight and everyone talking, laughing, or scolding.

Elias had made smaller gestures but still seemed like someone who'd be unable to talk if he were to sit on his hands. The same could be said for Jasmine, and Sakura was in-between them and Toris.

Remembering words that had been said was just as hard if not more so. So far, she only had a few lines of things she managed to remember word for word:

"… _everything is relevant…" – Natasha_

"…_I call for order!" - Natasha_

"_I will give you some of my energy." – Sakura_

"_The forest has ears." - Sakura_

"_I have witnessed so much more than you could ever imagine." – Toris_

"_And exactly what is someone like me like?" – Natasha_

"_I will not tell you that we are safe. That would be a lie." - Elias_

"…_about man writing down rebel thoughts … killed by Thought Police?" – Joan_

"… _you never know when you will get it next." – Joan_

"_We're going to fly." - Jasmine_

"_We have two options: Kill them or get killed." – Sakura_

"…_I got a second chance." - Natasha_

"_I knew nothing about the real world." – Joan_

"_I have this for you." – Jasmine_

"… _wards off the Evil Eye." – Jasmine_

"_Beating yourself up will do no good." - Natasha_

"_Ignorance will __kill__ you." – Joan_

"_We have ways to get things done." - Toris_

"…_they will live to fight again." – Sakura_

These were the statements Alex kept looking at over and over again, trying to find any significance within them. Already, Alex had tried saying them aloud to the _nazar_ in hopes that one of these phrases would break the spell. It was to no avail; she'd even tried saying them in as close to the original tone and style as she could recall.

Now, she just had to start thinking that none of them had said the invocation (or whatever it was) outright, word for word. They had to know Alex wouldn't remember every little thing. They couldn't have assumed she'd remember the correct words, so it had to be something else. They had to have dropped hints. Maybe it was something that was repeated?

More than once, ignorance had been mentioned. Joan had mentioned it with great emphasis, and Toris had said something about it to Alex's dad. She couldn't remember the entire sentence, but there'd been something about "drunken ignorance". Hadn't there also been something Natasha had said about ignorance? Alex couldn't remember, but it sounded like something she'd mention.

What about balance? It'd been mentioned more than once that the Purities had once sided with the Evils to keep good from wiping them out. They wouldn't just tell Alex about that out of the blue, right? She couldn't really remember what had brought the topic up. That Sorcer had said it, right? Or had it been Alejandro? No, it had to have been the Sorcer. There had to have been significance to that. Only, that had been the only time Alex spoke with him. Still, she added him—it took a while for her to remember his name—and tried to think back to that day.

Most of it was a blur, but there were a few moments that stood out—mostly images Alex would rather forget.

Who else had mentioned that tidbit about the Purities? Natasha? Most likely.

"… Alex…"

It was Juliette's voice, she was sure, but Alex couldn't make out anything other than her name. Her mind was much too focused on the notebook before her—the riddle waiting patiently with a smug look as it waited to be solved.

Was the clue about relevance? Safety? Energy? Freedom? Fighting? Second chances?

The last one hit home with Alex. This current life was like her second chance. So did the phrase "second chance" have something to do with the invocation? They wouldn't make it too hard, right? It'd be simple. They all knew Alex was an underachiever and that she was desperate. They wouldn't make it overcomplicated, yet it'd still have to be something someone else wouldn't easily get.

_Just the fact it should be simple is tough!_ Alex roared in her mind, forehead falling to the notebook as her arms went out over the desktop, making her look defeated. _Leave it to me to get beaten by a freakin' spell-riddle-thing._

"ALEX!"

Sharp pain shot through the side of Alex's head, intensifying the throbbing that had already been there. The force from the blow knocked her out of the chair, forcing it to topple over as her bicep caught the edge of the desk along with the back of her head and then her elbow. Three jolts fired through her from the collisions before she hit the ground, trying to land to where no more pain would come to her head. She landed on her shoulder, then upper back as she rolled, sending lighting flashes down her wings, reminding her of the many times she'd been thrust against a tree in the state park back in New York.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Alex forced herself up, black stars edging around her vision, making it hazy. She blinked rapidly and rubbed her hurt arm, elbow still going through a few pings of left-over pain. It felt like her shoulder had twisted a bit, and she ruffled her wings, the airy sound of the feathers rubbing against each other like whispered complaints.

Arms crossed, Juliette stood at the end of her own desk, leaning against the corner of it. Her expression was a mixture of sternness and annoyance, but there was a small shine of concern in her eyes that softened them somewhat. She may not be screaming at Alex anymore, but she still seemed to be far from forgiving her.

"I just found something in my bag at the end of Magic Theory." Juliette unfolded her arms and turned to retrieve the sheet of paper. It'd been folded twice, and Alex could see a couple of spots of pink ink from where the pen had rested for too long.

Going around the fallen chair, Alex went over to Juliette and took the note. "And?"

"I don't pass notes in class," Juliette said matter-of-factly. "I only know you, Justin, Max, and Harper. Harper's only in one of our classes but sits nowhere near me, and the rest of you aren't ones to use pink pens."

"You thinking it could be a clue to something?"

"I haven't read it, but Nottes are pretty sensitive to energy," the blonde explained. "Usually, it's only under the realm of 'positive' or 'negative', but if the emotion of the person is strong enough, then I can pick it up without having to concentrate too hard. Humans and mages can pick up energy as well, but they normally have more trouble than Nottes, having to do certain 'exercises' to strengthen those type powers."

Holding the folded paper by the corner, Alex tried to concentrate but didn't get anything. It didn't surprise her. She could barely feel her own emotions. How could she hope to feel someone else's? Off a piece of paper no less.

"What'd you get?" she inquired, eyes on the paper. It looked like Juliette hadn't opened it. Was that because she wanted to read it along with Alex? Did she feel that it had to do with her? Or had the energy frightened her and she couldn't bring herself to read it alone?

Brow pinching, those red-tinted eyes went towards the floor. Her eyes changed to their true, Notte color when coming under intense feelings. Looking back, Alex remembered seeing those eyes flash to the color of blood when Juliette jumped with excitement or gasped in shock or fear.

The Notte hesitated, making the maln-grah tense.

Finally, she looked back up at her and whispered, "It was all confusing, like the writer herself—I'm _guessing_ it's a girl—didn't know what or how to feel. Everything feels… frayed? I guess that's the right word to use. It's like when I used to touch some of your stuff back at Waverly Place. It was like not everything was there. At first, with you, I thought it was just because of how much you tend to hide your true feelings."

"Trust me," Alex sighed. "I don't hide them well. If I'm upset, I want the world to know and feel miserable with me."

Juliette only gave a nod. "Yeah, I learned that later. Anyway, the paper has a feel similar to that, but still different."

"Huh?" Okay, this was getting a little too confusing again. Alex had to strain to hear over the pounding of her skull as the ripples moved outward with even more speed and power than before. It was like her headache was reacting to the note.

"Unlike you, she can feel emotion well enough from the core, but it gets frizzled and warped at the edges." The Notte was looking away again, brow furrowed as she tried to think of the best way to explain. "Um… Yours is basically like the opposite. The edges are fine. You can ride over the surface of your emotions well enough, but you can't dive any deeper. Basically, you're shallow."

"Gee, thanks."

The comment was ignored. "It has to do with your missing soul, obviously. Well, this person obviously has a soul, but it's like there's something going on with her spirit or mind. She feels… unstable, I guess is right. Her emotions come firing out without her logical mind to focus it. Or maybe her spirit to soften it. I don't know which."

"So she could be insane?"

"Possibly. I've never been with anyone with a serious mental or personality disorder."

"Well, let's read the note then." Alex crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "We can figure out what's going on after."

"Hmm…" Juliette's eyes narrowed as she read—her Wizarn was rusty when it came to reading and writing—and Alex turned her eyes onto the words as well, casting the memories from home away for now.

_I've been watching you and I think I can help. I know about the mirror  
and what it is you're looking for. Come meet me in room CE4 tonight.  
I will be there from 20 to 21._

_Jacquenette, you were closer, and I know you will be there with Claire.  
I understand if you both are wary, but I can help, and it is easy to see  
that you need it. You can't do this on your own. I even know your real  
names, but I will not write them down in case someone else sees this.  
Please come. There isn't much time left._

"Senka Divines…," Juliette muttered once she finished reading. "Do we go?"

Folding back up the note, Alex exhaled loudly. "I don't think I really have a choice. She's right; there's not much time left. I don't feel any closer to getting my soul back than before we created the scrying mirror."

"It could be a trap."

"Thanks Captain Obvious," Alex murmured sarcastically, earning herself a glare as she went to set her chair back upright. "Who sits around you in Magic Theory?" She turned the composition notebook to a brand new page and also got back her pen as she sat down. "Or maybe there's somewhere you set down your bag? Did you notice anyone putting something in it today?"

Taking her chair over by Alex's, Juliette recounted, "Justin sits to my left. Max sits in front of me, some guy—Thomas, I think—sits to my right, and that girl Léa sits behind me."

"Léa…" Alex tried to remember her as Juliette sat down. "The nerdy girl?"

"Scholarship kid, like us," she corrected.

"If the circumstances were different, I _never_ would have gotten a scholarship," Alex reminded, writing all of this down. "Anyway, she doesn't seem like someone who'd write this. What about people having her passing the note forwards?"

"I haven't memorized the classroom layout," Juliette said with a shake of her head. "Anyway, I usually keep my bag next to me during free period and lunch. Someone could have slipped something in while walking by, but I think I would have noticed someone."

"How do you think we should meet her? If it's a trap, we'll have to plan something to keep us from getting hurt."

"Yeah. Um… All the second-floor windows are open, like ours, right?" Juliette motioned towards their window, which didn't even have a screen, but the curtains were secured to keep out as much light as possible.

They had all heard something about how the custodians would put up something on the widows when it began to get cold, but Alex didn't really know for sure.

"I think so." Alex wrote this down. "Want me to surprise her by flying in instead of using the door?"

"Yeah, and then I'll go in through the door with Harper. We can see if we can get Justin and Max to sneak out and wait outside as backup. I'm not sure if Harper will be able to convince her cousin to help, but it'd be worth a shot."

The pen had stopped in midsentence while the Notte spoke. Looking at her with a sidelong glance and raising her eyebrows, Alex questioned slowly, "You want _Max_ there as back-up?"

"_You've_ seen him in our casting class!" Juliette defended.

Giving a nod, Alex kept writing. "Yeah… It made me feel all weirded-out and proud at the same time. I can't believe he's even keeping his side of the room _clean_!"

"Well, it's not like we have much to dirty our rooms with."

"That normally wouldn't stop Max."

"He's definitely grown up a lot."

"I know." Alex gripped the pen more tightly. "I don't think he's tried to really process all of this. I think he's just trying to keep moving forward. His eyes… He was always so clueless and naïve before. He looks… hardened."

"It's been tough on all of us."

"Yeah, but it looks like he's the worst off." Alex sighed and set the pen down, Sierra's voice coming back to her:

"_I don't know if people really think this or not, but this is how they act: As long as they keep their head down with their butts in the seat all their life, they don't have to worry 'bout life giving them that good old kick it tends to give people. Way I see it is life's gonna bite you even harder if that's your approach."_

That life seemed so far away now, but that statement seemed even truer than ever. Life was nothing but a bully, looking for the best place to set for attack and force the people to keep moving. In everything, Fate was indecisive, Fortune was bi-polar, and Death was forever waiting with the faintest of smiles kissing those pale, thin lips.

Altogether, it made for instability and unpredictability. What was that Sierra had said in her speech in early December? Alex hadn't been at the banquet in the cafetorium, but those who had talked incessantly about the speech for over a week.

_Life is war, and war is Hell_, Alex remembered. _And there're three choices. We can fight alone, hide behind someone else, or band together._

"Okay." Alex scribbled down something else. "Let's tell them at dinner. We'll have to figure out how to sneak out and plan how we're going to do this. I don't know who this person is, but we can't take any chances."

"Right," Juliette agreed.

Swallowing, the maln-grah decided, _We're going to band together. If life is war, then we're going to need an army to get through it._


	32. King of Cups

**Chapter 32: King of Cups**

"_I voluntarily inflicted a certain level of insanity on myself." - Jonathan Franzen_

Landing in a crouch by the bushes below her window, Alex froze, wings half-open from slowing her descent. Upon hearing no movement, she flattened her wings against her back and began to walk down towards where the classroom was. Keeping to the shadows, Alex moved slowly and stayed low to the ground. Whenever she looked up, she could see light pouring out from dorm rooms, offices, and a couple of classrooms. It was likely that the lights of room CE4 were off, the note's writer wanting to stay inconspicuous.

At dinner that night, Juliette and Alex had quickly informed the others, voices often intertwining to where one of them would have to stay quiet as the other repeated the sentence. Justin and Max had readily agreed, wanting to help their sister, and Harper had agreed as well. She'd ask Léon to help right after dinner—his was scheduled for right after theirs, and she was going to catch him in the hallway. Harper had needed to try and explain the situation as best as she could without giving too much away, and Léon had eventually agreed upon seeing how much this meant to Harper. They all then headed straight for one of the study rooms to plan while pretending to be working.

During the planning stage, Alex had decided she liked Leon. His hazel eyes were kind, though he seemed like someone people shouldn't cross. He was protective of Harper without being overbearing, and he was extremely loyal with a strict moral compass. Alex enjoyed these traits, thinking that more people needed them. She'd done horrible things in her past—both as Seraphina _and_ Alexandra. She was up to her neck in grey; Léon's view of things in black and white was just what she needed.

This kind view may seem inflexible and harsh to most, but it was stable. It was a way of creating order in the chaos and creating a path through it so that the other side could finally be reached.

"_How do you know this isn't a prank?" Léon inquired as he opened his pre-calculus textbook. _

_He also took out a notebook and actually started doing problems that looked similar to what Alex had in trigonometry. It seemed way over her head, though. Alex still couldn't completely wrap her mind around the whole variable-thing. Math was supposed to use _numbers_, not letters._

"_This girl knows too much for it to be a prank," Alex replied, typing notes into her laptop. The light making up the keyboard was blue._

_Sharing Justin's trigonometry book, Juliette amended, "This could be dangerous, though. Are you sure you're up for it?"_

_Moving on to the next problem, Léon replied matter-of-factly, "Harper said it's really important and that it'll really help Claire." He looked up at her briefly. "I don't know you, but if she trusts you, then I do."_

_Feeling the pain in her head flare at the word 'trust', Alex looked up at him and gave a nod. "Thank you."_

Trying to ignore the pain, Alex crept along the bushes lining the castle, counting out loud in a soft whisper the numbers of the rooms. They had gone over the layout of this part of the castle, and Alex was sure she could now find room CE4 in her sleep.

It was a Charms and Enchantment classroom, which meant that there were numerous items in the room that could be used as weapons. It would be easy for a booby trap to be set up before hand, seeing as Professor Poulin taught there and didn't have a fourth block on Blue Days.

The locks were also old on most of those doors, and it didn't take a genius to learn how to turn a bobby pin into a lock pick. That was actually how Juliette planned on getting in if the door was locked. The note said the girl would be in there between eight o'clock and nine o'clock, so Alex was planning on finding the window a half-hour early, thanking every Immortal watching over her that this part of the castle was on the east side and thus already cast in near-darkness as the shadows became longer with the sun's slow retreat.

"_Does everyone have a watch?" asked Justin, looking up from the book as Juliette turned the page. "We should get them in sync so that we arrive at the same time."_

"_It's only two groups," Harper reminded, "so we'll only need two watches. I have one, and so does Léon. Right?" She looked over at him as he nodded._

"_Yeah, it's in my room right now, though. I don't wear it often."_

"_Well, you can wear it tonight." Justin got that faraway look he usually got as the gears in his head began turning. "Alex can use Harper's. We'll make sure they're synchronized. This person's supposed to be there between eight and nine, right?"_

"_Uh-huh." Alex wasn't really sure what she was typing anymore, but she didn't really care. She wouldn't be here long enough to flunk out if everything went well. Once she had her soul, she should be more protected, and they'd all be allowed into Celetsiakami and be safe there instead._

"_Are we going there at a different time?" asked Max. He sat between Alex and Harper, and in front of him was _The Sound and the Fury_, open to the end of Quentin's chapter._

"_Seven-thirty sounds good," said Juliette, who sat between Justin and Leon._

_Everyone nodded in agreement, and Justin looked to his right to smile at Alex. "Don't worry. We'll get it."_

Upon reaching the correct place, Alex quickly leapt over to duck behind the bushes and to where she couldn't be seen out of the first story window unless someone leaned out of it and looked down. That room was dark anyway, just like the one above it. There were a few giggles and bits of speech flowing out of nearby windows as people moved about and gossiped, making the school seem like it was alive.

No one knew about what was going on in one of the second-story rooms, and Alex was just fine with that. She didn't need anyone else getting dragged into this mess. If life was war, that meant a risk of casualties. Alex wasn't sure if she could face that, so she just cast it from her mind, focusing only on the humming of the _nazar_ beneath the fabric of her white button-up shirt.

With her excellent night vision, Alex looked at the watch strapped to her left wrist. The leather band was white, and the face had the design of a daisy—definitely Harper's watch. Unfortunately, it was analog, not digital. Alex had learned how to read analog clocks along with the other first graders in elementary school, but she had always used digital afterwards. It took a while for her to dredge up those old memories of wearing a ponytail and silky skirts and dresses, tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she tried to understand what Mrs. Dale was teaching.

_It's almost time_, thought Alex as she set her hand back down onto the ground to help her keep her balance as she couched low by the bushes, brushing a tiny spider off of her knee. _Just three more minutes._

Just like pots of water, watches, too, seemed to have stage fright, making time seem as if it were going by slowly. It wasn't until about the fiftieth time Alex looked at the watch that the second hand was inching ever-closer towards the top to turn time from 7:29 to 7:30.

_Come on, come on!_ thought Alex as she counted down, starting from thirty. Soon, it was twenty, and, at ten, Alex straightened and leapt back before snapping out her wings and taking flight. Her leg muscles screeched at the vertical jump after so long of being bent beneath her as she hid. The muscles in her wings strained as she flapped as fast as she was able, hurtling towards the room.

At the last possible second, Alex tucked in her wings, diving in as she fell at a forty-five degree angle from about six feet above the window. She extended her wings once she was in, narrowly avoiding a desk. An empty beaker moved at the sudden gust of wind, and there was a gasp—delayed, Alex noted—that came from the corner by the teacher's demonstration desk.

Twisting to face in that direction, Alex landed on one table, being mindful of the hotplates and cylinders. The door was already open, Juliette and Harper coming in. The former had her fangs bared and eyes the color of blood, and the latter wore fingerless gloves (for protection against certain spells) and had her hands poised for an offensive spell. The door stayed cracked behind them, a foot wedged there. Léon, Justin, and Max were ready to crash in as soon as the word was given, all three wearing fingerless gloves like Harper.

"Fire," Alex whispered in Etan, picturing the five candles on the demonstration table to light. They did as commanded, as well as the candles laid out on the two lab desks in the front of the classroom.

Grass green eyes shut quickly, not used to the light. The girl looked to be about sixteen or seventeen. She was tall and had her figure hidden by the blazer, and her dirty blonde locks were tied back in a French braid. As she opened her too-large eyes, her slim face was turned towards Alex. She looked like she was trying to glare at her, but there were dark half-moons beneath her eyes, and those green orbs looked glazed over and distant.

Instantly, Alex remembered what Juliette had said about the energy, but no pity came forth. She'd never been one to feel pity anyway, and this girl wasn't about to unlock it from the maln-grah.

"I see you're early." Her voice was hoarse, and her eyes moved towards the other two girls. "You can relax. I have nothing to attack with."

Harper's muscles tensed as her eyes narrowed. "In a charms classroom? I highly doubt that."

"Well, you would be more than enough to take me down either way." Her words seemed to slur as she said that, eyelids drooping slightly. She didn't seem like the kind of girl to stay up all night studying.

According to the stories, Gabrielle and her brother, Patrice, came from old money. Their parents donated loads of money to the school, and they were usually treated better and were able to get away with more because of it. So was she drunk? Or high?

Or was she just sick? Something wasn't right with her, and Alex narrowed her eyes, getting more suspicious by the moment.

"Why did you tell me to come here?" she demanded, forcing the Wizard to look her way once again.

In the firelight, her skin seemed pale, and her cheeks seemed sunken, like she was close to death. She usually walked around with enough powders on her face that some may wonder what she actually looked like, but she was clean now. This was the real her, and Alex could see why she was always caking on the foundation and blush. She looked like a skeleton that stretched a length of skin over her face otherwise.

Gabrielle's mouth never fully closed, and her bow-shaped lips looked dried out. "I heard you've been searching for your soul."

Alex tensed, and the sickly girl gave a creepy-looking smile that never made it to her dead eyes.

"I also heard you've found it." The smile grew at Alex's widened eyes. "Having trouble retrieving it?"

Juliette took a bold step forward. "Where the hell are you getting this information?!" She made sure not to make her voice too loud. None of them wanted to explain to any of the professors what they were doing.

Eyes flickering towards the Notte, Gabrielle replied, "I have friends in high places."

"Or _low_ places," Alex growled. "I guess it depends on your point of view."

There was a sudden spark in Gabrielle's eyes that made Alex suck in her breath. The Wizard growled, "Whether my friends come from Anatolsiskan or Akanolatah is of no concern. If the information brings you what you desire, then what does it matter?"

"Words from those of Akanolatah always hold a high price," Juliette growled, eyes flashing in anger. "What do you want for this information you're so willing to give us?" The question came out as a sneer, fangs bared and gleaming in the candlelight.

From where Alex stood, she looked… monstrous. She had a feral look in her eyes, and it seemed like the small bit of logic left was the only thing holding her back. What was setting her so on edge? It couldn't just be because of Alex.

The hairs on the back of Alex's neck prickled, and she took a in a deep breath through her nose. Gabrielle smelled of some flowers with a mild perfume mixed with crushed pine needles and some tart berries. It smelled like the flowers were wilting, and the crushed pine needles didn't smell as sharp as they had that first day Alex had arrived. What was going on? Underneath, there was the subtle scent of rusted iron. She was more than just sick, that much Alex knew. The scent was familiar, but she couldn't remember it from this life.

_Crap…,_ thought Alex, shoulders falling as she stepped down from the desk. "Gabrielle."

"So you've decided you wish to know?" she asked coolly, ignoring Juliette.

"She hasn't said anything!" Harper declared. "Now, what do you want?" She asked this slowly, voice filled with ire.

Ignoring them, the Wizard stared at Alex. "Tell your friends to stand down. I can do nothing to harm you or them." She held up trembling hands at shoulder-level.

"Friends?" The girl's mind was working fast, and she raised her eyebrows slightly and hoped there was a puzzled look in her eyes. This was a bit of a longshot, but not if she was right as she believed she was. "What are you talking about, Gabrielle? I came here alone."

Taking a small step backwards, Gabrielle's eyes widened as a horrified look painted over her vulnerable face. She shot a look at Juliette and Harper, the latter giving Alex a look of bewilderment. However, the winged girl merely cocked a hip and crossed her arms, keeping her eyebrows raised as she silently prayed for them to just go along with it.

The auburn-haired girl seemed to catch on quickly, thankfully, and turned back the blonde girl that had her back pressed up against some cabinets as she breathed deeply and jaggedly. Harper kept her stance, eyes narrowing once again as a corner of her mouth quirked upwards.

"N-no!" Gabrielle stuttered, looking like she was having to fight to get enough air. "Th-they're he-re! I _see_ them!" Her voice was shrill, making Alex want to knock her unconscious so she wouldn't end up catching the attention of a faculty member wandering down the hallway.

"See who?" Alex did her best to contort her face into one filled with confusion, pity, and just a bit of fear. "What are you talking about?"

Playing along, Harper whispered eerily, "Your secret has been found out, Gabrielle."

"No!" The shaking girl began to slide down the cabinet, tears streaming down her pallid cheeks. "No, no! _Divines_ no!"

Stalking up towards her, Alex murmured, "I believe you're beyond even _their_ help now."

She reached down and pulled the frail girl up by the collar of her open blazer. She looked like she hadn't been eating lately, and Alex remembered that she hadn't seen Gabrielle with anything more than a small salad on her tray ever since arriving, and she had never seemed to do anything more than push the leaves and cherry tomatoes around on the plate.

Those green eyes went wide as they locked onto Alex's silver ones, and she began to shake harder. "Put me down!"

"_You_ brought _me_ here," Alex growled through clenched teeth. "That means either you want me to do something or you're being 'gracious' enough to give me something. So which is it?" Her voice stayed low, tone menacing and reminding her all-too-well of Idolon.

At the thought of that name, the headache grew, and Alex's vision grew blurred.

"Tell her what she wants," Juliette commanded in an equally low voice.

Setting Gabrielle back onto her feet, Alex looked down to keep eye-contact, some of her hair coming forward to shadow her face. "They can't bother us here."

"You can't know that." Her voice shook, showing just how afraid she was, but the ex-zolak-gai wasn't the source of this deep fear.

"How long have you been seeing things?" asked Alex, trying to arch a single eyebrow. "_Hearing_ things? It happens often, right?"

"SHUT UP!" Those eyes only had a spark of that anger, but that emotion wasn't enough to give any real strength into the punch she attempted to give as she lunged forward.

With ease, Alex caught her fist in one hand, giving it a good twist and forcing Gabrielle off-balance. Catching her, Alex leaned forward and whispered, "Tell me what I want to know, and I'll leave you alone."

This time, Gabrielle's eyes weren't on Alex's face as she allowed her to hold her up. Those once-bright eyes were on Alex's cocoa-colored throat, moving downwards towards the collar of her shirt, the first two buttons undone.

In a swift motion that shocked Alex, Gabrielle lurched to one side, hands flying out and grasping the collar of her shirt. She pulled with more strength than she seemed capable of, forcing the buttons to pop off. The _nazar _was then revealed, and the blonde grabbed hold of it before Alex could do anything to stop her. One of Alex's hands went to Gabrielle's shoulder as there was a harsh tug, forcing Alex forward as the ribbon's knot tightened. Juliette and Harper were already advancing, Harper giving a yell that called for the guys to come in.

Throwing one hand into the air above her head as the other stayed in front of her mouth, palm facing out, Harper began the incantation, the equation already in her mind. By then, however, Gabrielle had the charm and jumped out of the way with the grace of a gymnast, eyes sparkling with child-like glee. She even giggled as the ball of translucent, teal-colored energy crashed into the cabinet, splintering wood and narrowly missing Juliette, who had lunged for the Wizard.

Gabrielle dodged another ball of energy, this one the warm brown of autumn, which had been thrust from Léon's large hands. Justin was still getting a spell ready, but Gabrielle was soon suspended in the air, an orb of what looked to be rushing air surrounding her.

"STOP!" Alex ordered, getting to her feet. "That charm she's holding has my soul! Don't break it!"

Eyes wide, Harper stopped in mid-spell, and Léon had one hand up in preparation as his eyes widened in shock. His chiseled face turned towards Alex, dark brown locks falling over his eyes. Justin and Max seemed to pause as well, eyes on the floating girl, but Juliette looked like a predator ready to attack.

"Don't worry," she growled. "I won't."

With speed Alex's eyes couldn't hope to follow, Juliette leapt up towards Gabrielle. The orb holding her jerked to the left at the last second, and Juliette was suddenly thrust against the wall by the door. She clawed by her neck, eyes bulging as an invisible force held her there, three feet off of the floor.

"Juliette!" Justin sprinted towards her, and Alex shrieked in rage and jumped up, wings extended. With a hard flap, she was airborne and heading for Gabrielle, who cradled the _nazar_ in her hands as she smirked evilly.

When Alex was inches away from the thief, a force rammed into her stomach and forced her back onto the ground, the wind knocked out of her. It felt like she'd crushed her wings, but she was on her feet quickly as Max tried to cast a spell to break through Gabrielle's wind-like shield. Léon and Harper joined him to add power to the attack, but all four of them were knocked back as a whirlwind appeared between the two desks in the front, causing all the candles to blow out simultaneously. There was a heavy **thump** and a gasp, alerting that Juliette was now on the ground.

Getting to her feet, Alex's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she saw Madalene standing there, hand up by her head. The orb holding Gabrielle lowered and disappeared when the blonde could land on her feet. She handed the necklace over to Madalene, who kept her eyes locked on Alex's. The maln-grah wanted to scream and tackle her to the ground, but she was unable to move. She couldn't even blink. Behind her, Harper, Max, and Léon were talking about how they couldn't see, but their words all jumbled in Alex's ears as she stared into Madalene's azure eyes that never seemed to end. Her dark brown curls were pulled back into a ponytail, and she suddenly seemed much older even though she looked to be Justin's age.

"You've done well, Gabi." The scent of burning flesh filled the air as Madalene held onto the _nazar_, but she didn't seem to resister the pain. Instead, she just put the ribbon over her head without breaking eye-contact with Alex, her burnt hand going to Gabrielle's face. "I'm done with you now."

Horrible shrieks of pure terror and agony filled the air, and Alex could distantly hear footsteps quickly coming towards the classroom as pale orange light flashed in Madalene's dilated pupils. They'd be too late, though. Alex could already see Gabrielle grow paler to where her skin was like paper. She collapsed into a limp huddle, and a dangerous and satisfied gleam flashed over Madalene's wide eyes. She then disappeared into thin air, and Alex fell forward, a shrill cackle filling her entire being as if speeding through her veins as she was yanked away from consciousness.


	33. Three of Swords

**Chapter 33: Three of Swords**

"_Absence from whom we love is worse than death, and frustrates hope severer than despair." - William Cowper_

"Did you think I wouldn't be able to find you?"

Brow pinching, Alex became conscious of lying on something that was firm but still softer than lying on the floor of that classroom. Over her body was something smooth and warm. She was lying on her side, arm tucked beneath her head. The limb prickled beneath the skin as blood tried to flow through the constricted veins, and Alex's eyes finally flew open as she realized that this was her bed.

There were black stars at the fringes of her vision, but they soon cleared. The smell of an Italian sub assaulted her first, followed by tuna fish, then chicken and cheese enchiladas. She could also smell green bean casserole and mashed potatoes practically drowned in butter. Sitting up, she saw the huge tray on her desk, and her mouth watered as her stomach growled.

As the comforter slipped off of her, however, Alex froze, remembering the voice coming from the corner of her room. Slowly, she turned her head to where the painting of Gatobella was. Next to the easel was Atol, arms crossed over his chest and golden eyes narrowed through his long bangs. His hair was unkempt, and he wore a white tunic and dark breeches. Hanging from a thick belt was a long sword, and Alex's heart skipped a beat, realizing that she had never seen him with a weapon before.

Not to mention that he was _here_, in her _mind_, meaning Idolon would be free to escape.

Scrambling, Alex got to her feet and slid into a fighting stance.

Atol only looked on with a blank expression before remarking, "As soon as you got that charm taken from you, I was able to find you and pay you a visit." There was a hard set to his jaw, but his tone was even. "I gave that back to you for a reason. And why did you run away? I was taking you back to Boston in just a few days."

"Well, how the hell was I supposed to know?!" Alex kept her hands clutched into fists in front of her, ready to fight. "Why are you helping me, anyway?"

Motions slow, the man (did he look older?) walked over towards the desk but stayed close to the wall. As he looked at her with those empty eyes, he tilted his head slightly. "At least you're learning."

Perplexed, Alex eased her stance. "What?"

"Even if someone shows you kindness, it does not mean they are worthy of trust." There was harsh bitterness in his tone that made Alex cringe.

"Why even bother helping me after I…" She trailed off, unable to say the rest.

It was still hard to admit that _she_ had been the one to do all of those horrid things. She wanted to keep herself and Idolon separate. She wanted to say that she was Alexandra Margarita Russo. Seraphina Sataruskasenka was someone else entirely.

She knew, of course, that she was Seraphina, but that didn't mean she had to take up that name.

But Idolon hadn't either. She had denounced her lineage and had separated herself from all she had been meant to be to go after her own selfish aims. Alex's aims didn't seem as selfish, but she hated having something else in common with the demoness.

_We're _not_ the same person,_ Alex told herself with confidence. _She's from some alternative future. As far as I'm concerned, she's just another Evil._

"Don't even try to say that you feel guilt," Atol sighed.

"I—" Alex stopped. "No, I won't say that."

He gave a nod and then turned his eyes towards the desk. "Eat."

"But this is a dream."

The zolak-gai raised an eyebrow as he gave her a sidelong glance. "Does that make it any less real?"

Blinking, Alex was dumbfounded, and her hands fell back to her sides. Her mouth moved, but it was a while before anything came out, voice filled with disbelief. "It's a _dream_."

"Then how did that charm pass through into 'reality'?"

"It…"

That was a question Alex still didn't fully know how the answer to. It had to have been what it had been hiding, right?

It had that special connection with her, so when she had held it in her hand in the dream, it had followed her into reality. Still, that explanation didn't sound completely right. The way Atol had said "reality" was with a sort of sarcasm that usually came to Alex naturally as she spoke. It was like he knew that the rules of such a thing by what others considered to be tried and true were anything but. It was like he knew that such a word held no true meaning and preferred it to be discarded.

For so many people, there were only two parts of the universe: reality and fantasy. There was no place for in-between, as the two realms were pressed together firmly, a thin line separating them forever.

Unlike good and bad, reality and fantasy were completely solid, unable to mix. The line was too thin for anyone to walk along it without leaning over or even falling into one side or the other. Both sides were crafted of a collective view, which was different for many societies. A person claiming to see the future would be held highly in one place and secured in a mental hospital in another.

With mages, magic was completely in the realm of reality, while, for Humans, it was still trapped in fantasy. It was the collective perspectives of these abstract ideas that created the realms, and Alex had learned that the cosmos had its own ideas of what constituted as reality and what didn't.

Living in somewhere like Tartarus under the smear of hot gas acting as a "sun" and having to steal souls, spirits, minds, blood, or flesh to survive, this truth very likely became evident after a while. Nothing in the reality Alex had tried to keep herself in said she could lose her soul and have it hidden somewhere for her to find. Nothing in that reality had a way for her and Atol to meld their auras together. There were no laws saying how Idolon could even exist or how the time paradox could have happened.

If laws could be so easily broken, did they really exist in the first place?

It was all so hard for Alex to wrap her mind around. It didn't seem like something _anyone_ could comprehend, no matter _how_ long he or she lived. To keep his or her mind from exploding, everyone that unlocked the bit of truth about reality's nature probably just kept the door closed, the key nearby but mostly forgotten. That would have to be how Alex treated it. She'd go insane otherwise, and she was already tumbling towards that dark abyss too many had already fallen victim to.

_Gabrielle_, Alex recalled.

Gabrielle had known what Madalene was and what she was doing to her. Why had she allowed the Etamitlu Live agent drain her of her mind, forcing her further and further from sanity?

Most people only treasured the soul and spirit. The mind and body were far-too often forgotten when they were just as important for each person to retain. The physical body may be mortal, but the memory of it continued on even after the person was being brought to judgment. Agony was brought to those who were damned, and delight was brought to those who were blessed. Once reborn, they were given a new shell, but the memory of the old is still within them somewhere, working with the new and creating something wonderful for each person to experience so they could keep learning, keep growing.

Like with reality, it was hard for Alex to wrap her mind around all of this, but she knew that it was all important. Everyone was always talking about balance in the world. The body, mind, spirit, and soul created balance within each individual, and their combined energies across the cosmos to create this balance.

That much was clear, and Alex knew that, while she would be alive physically, Gabrielle had been reduced to nothing more than a zombie. She would be unable to make coherent sentences. Alex would be surprised if she would be able to manage speaking at all besides crying out or other instinctual noises that did not necessarily need logic to guide them. She'd have most of her emotions intact. Her soul and spirit would be there, but she'd have no mind to focus or filter anything. Everything and nothing would be real to her, and she'd have no way to protect herself from outside forces.

And she'd done it to herself. Alex almost thought she felt pity, but it was hard to dredge up such an emotion for someone that had done some of the worst self-mutilation to herself. And for what? A chance at immortality?

Exactly how much would people be willing to give up for prospects that were ridiculous once analyzed? Alex couldn't fathom it. After obtaining the knowledge that she could live forever to watch her loved ones grow old and die before her eyes was enough to make her heart feel like it'd been shattered, the shards puncturing her lungs and stomach.

"Just eat." Atol went and pulled out the chair. "I'm not sure why you keep coming back here when it's been destroyed." He went over towards the window as Alex made her way towards her desk.

Before sitting down, Alex dipped a finger into the pile of mashed potatoes and then popped the dot of white into her mouth. It was hot and tasted of butter and salt, the potatoes whipped so fine, it was like Theresa had put them into a blender to prepare them. Yet, they were still thick, and Alex savored the taste, remembering that dinner in mid-December with Juliette, Justin, Max, her mom, and her dad. It had to be late January by now, everyone still working to clean up New York City and sending the bodies off to be prepared, the rest left to mourn.

Again, Alex began to think about how many people had likely died in that earthquake, but she just shook the images from her thoughts and sat down, being mindful of her wings.

In-between bites, Alex answered solemnly, "It's _because_ it's been destroyed I want to keep it alive in my memories."

"Rooms aren't alive." His tone was flat as he stared out the window towards Waverly Place—the Waverly Place Alex remembered and would never let go of.

"They're the windows to our souls," Alex said, remembering what Atol had said to her the first time he had come into her dream. "That makes them alive enough to me and lots of other people."

As Alex ate, Atol was silent. She started with the mashed potatoes before moving onto the casserole, savoring each bite. The room was unnaturally silent. Even though everything looked as it did in Alex's memories, she couldn't hear all of the voices from below. She couldn't hear the sounds of cars speeding past or horns honking. She couldn't hear the swearing or shouts of annoyance that usually gave the impression of New Yorkers being rude. She couldn't hear the many languages that showed how people from all walks of life and from all different cultures and communities wandered the streets of the city Alex had always claimed as her home. She couldn't hear the tourists asking for directions.

She knew that if she were to look out the window, she would see no one. She and Atol were alone.

Alex figured she could probably add people if she concentrated hard enough, but she decided not to. She could picture the faces of some of the people, like the guy manning the fruit stand or the woman that was often picking up litter as she walked down the sidewalk. However, Alex's imagination wasn't vast enough to create individual faces for even hundreds of people, let alone _millions_. They'd all be walking around, looking like clones except for maybe differing hair, skin, and eye colors. Even worse, they could have no faces. Alex would rather be alone that see a crowd of faceless people walking around in routine they were forced through like puppets. It'd be too freaky, and Alex wasn't planning on dreaming forever anyway.

It might have been a tempting thought once upon a time, but it wasn't so anymore. As horrible as real life was, Alex trusted her mind even less. As she ate, she kept her ears strained, trying to pick up any sign of Idolon appearing. The headache was gone, and Alex knew that Atol had inadvertently set the demoness free just by coming to see her.

Was it really inadvertently? He couldn't know about the time paradox, right?

Natasha knew because she'd been dead at the time, but the Evil leaders seemed to be _beyond_ death. Could they know about it too? The Einharuns? The Guardians? Just how many people could know about something like this? It couldn't just be Natasha and Idolon.

_Ugh!_ Alex ceased eating for a few moments, trying not to think too hard about all of this. _Just eat. Just eat and let him talk. The more you think, the more confused you get. If she shows up…_ Alex wouldn't finish the thought. Instead, she focused on the taste of the enchiladas.

"What happened to it?" Atol inquired suddenly.

"Hmm?" Surprised, Alex turned around, the fork in her mouth. She took it out as she began to chew.

Without turning around, the blond man elaborated, "The charm. What happened to it? With it in your possession, it should have been much harder for me to find you."

Setting the fork down, Alex turned back around to look at her desk. The miscellaneous items had been pushed around to make way for the large tray, and Alex picked up a sketchbook that only had three blank pages left in it. "It was stolen. By an Etamitlu Live."

"Hmm." He didn't sound shocked, and Alex wondered if he _could_ feel shock or surprise anymore. "You had many enemies, and Set is willing to give a large bounty for your soul."

_Did Madalene even work for Set? _Alex asked herself as she flipped through the pictures that ranged from mediocre to nearly lifelike. "I thought Evils didn't work together very well."

"Tiamat and Set are on relatively good terms, and she is cunning and intelligent. She knows that she and the other three must be able to work together well to keep from falling under into anarchy. Although many of them cause chaos, they do not favor it when it harms _them_. They must keep firm hands on their subjects and make sure to keep down any rising threats. Set doesn't want you slipping away again, and it is likely the others agree that you are too valuable to let go."

"Lucky me," Alex muttered, not feeling hungry anymore. She paused at a portrait she had drawn of Harper a few years ago. It wasn't shaded, and the eyes were slightly uneven. The nose wasn't quite right either, and the hairline wasn't in the right place, making the forehead look smaller than it really was.

This had been when Harper wore her hair shorter and when her clothing hadn't been quite as elaborate. Her wardrobe had been toned down for a couple of years, the only weird choice being that sunflower shirt and rainbow socks. Alex smiled at the portrait, but her eyes were sad. She'd made Harper sit still at lunch that day as she sketched, the lines too dark and hard to erase. It kept both of them from eating, and Harper had ended up stuffing her roll and cookie into her purse as well as taking Alex's cookie as payment.

"How'd you know it held my soul?" Alex questioned warily, closing the sketchbook.

"The way you said what happened to it," Atol replied. "It was just a guess, but you haven't contradicted me, so I take it that my suspicion was correct."

"If only I was able to figure out how to get my soul sooner."

"Yes. If only."

There was movement, and Alex had no time to think. In an instant, she was on her feet in a ready stance, forcing the chair to fall over. In her hands was the jian sword, and there was slight pain in her scalp from pulling out a few strands of hair. At her feet was the sheath, and Alex realized that she couldn't remember grabbing the hairclip, much less unsheathing the sword. Still, she held it up in an awkward position that strained her arms, blocking Atol's xiphos sword. Immediately, Alex recognized it. That was the very same sword she had used during the battle in Tartarus all those years ago.

With a grunt, Alex pushed his sword up over his head, and she shot out her front leg, getting him in the ribs. He stumbled back, giving her just enough time to jump to the right and turn, sword pointed out in front of her as she sneered.

"A betrayal for a betrayal?" Alex should have known what this would happen.

Faking left and going right, Alex dodged Atol's swing. He turned just in time to block her attack, keeping the thin, gleaming blade from catching him in the side. "More like buying time."

"I suggest investing in—" She bent her knees to duck without having to take her eyes off of Atol, and her sword came up to catch his before it could scalp her. She then turned off to the left before straightening up and trying to drive the blade through the man's heart, but he evaded the jab easily. "—a pocket watch." Finally, she got him in the right bicep, though the cut wasn't deep—still, it was something. "Less bloody."

There was barely a second for Alex to dodge the next strike, and she was beginning to get flashbacks of practicing with Atol with large sticks. He was strong, but she was fast.

Her hair had been long and tied back in a loose braid, and he had only looked to be in his mid-twenties rather than in his early thirties as he did now. Back then, they had practiced for hours at a time, neither ever willing to back down nor admit defeat, no matter how many bruises either sustained.

They'd even break each other's bones, and Alex could now remember once having a bit of bone sticking out of the skin of her left forearm, due to a strike she hadn't been able to dodge or block. It had hurt badly, but she had returned the favor with a hard strike to Atol's head that had nearly knocked him unconscious.

These memories flew through Alex's mind as she fought, the fierce ring of metal on metal shrieking at the highest volume possible through her ears. Vaguely, she wondered if Atol remembered as well, but his eyes were focused on the present. That was the only thing visible in those golden orbs, and it was frightening. Alex could remember seeing passion in those eyes once. Happiness. Hope.

Love.

Had that turned into hate? Had the betrayal shoved him over the edge now that he could no longer feel such strong emotion?

This was a dream, though. Would Alex still die?

"_Does that make it any less real?"_

The charm had passed through without trouble. Would her death be the same? Was she currently lying in the infirmary within Wiztech, brothers waiting by her bedside? Would the nurse soon be alerted when she stopped breathing and her limbs went limp? Would her brothers and parents have no idea what happened to her? Would she just die quietly, or would the wound appear in reality as well?

_No_. Alex gritted her teeth and swung, aiming for Atol's neck. _I'm not dying this way._

Hair falling further over his eyes, Atol quickly stepped aside and blocked the attack. Just by the look on his face, it was obvious that he was nowhere near giving up. He remembered once being in love with Seraphina, but he also knew that she had used him for her own selfish ambitions. He could easily kill her without having to worry about any shred of guilt. There was no telling how long it would take him to find favor with Set, if he ever did, and if there was any advantage to having a soul, it was its curse every Unspeakable loathed: It made him unfeeling and unable to become hurt.

Alex knew all of this. She knew that he would hold no qualms over taking her life. She also knew that he had been the one to kill Idolon in that alternative future. He had been the one to destroy the Aurora Talisman to keep her plan from coming to pass. It had been by his hand Idolon failed.

Now, this same fate was happening once again. If Alex died, Idolon would be forced to go with her.

At that realization, Alex paused, her back to the desk. Her eyes were wide, and she held the sword down low, heart pounding.

_Could I…? Would I really…?_ Alex battled over the thought in her mind as Atol hesitated, unsure of what to make of this.

Finally, he decided to take the moment and charge forward.

Licking her lips, Alex recalled a specific memory about the Gems. She then dropped her sword and bent down at the very last second so that the gleaming blade of the xiphos sword would be thrust straight through her skull, right through the third eye.


	34. Five of Swords

**Chapter 34: Five of Swords**

"_If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed." - Albert Einstein_

"… stupid!"

"…told… happened…"

"… damn… fight…"

There were numerous voices, but Alex was unable to distinguish any words except for those five.

Five: the number of the elements, spirit, divine, and harmony.

Lying there limp and with the dull throb of pain racking through her skull, Alex didn't think she was anywhere near harmony. As the fog in her mind began to clear, the images of what had happened back in the classroom and in her dream came spinning back, taunting and tittering in sadistic delight.

How could she still be alive? There was no way that this could be death. There was supposed to be no pain in death unless she'd been judged to damnation, right? She wouldn't by lying in what felt like a bed with a cardboard-like mattress if she were dead. Where was the tunnel? Where was the light? The angelic music? The feeling of finally going to peace? There'd been none of that.

Or had there?

Alex remembered a light. It was bright, but it wasn't silver or white. It'd been indigo. Like the wall of the Gem enclosing Idolon's mind.

The thought jumpstarted the girl's heart, but she remained still, unable to connect her thoughts back to her muscles. Instead, she focused in on her own mind.

The headache she felt now was nothing like what she'd felt before back in her dorm room or in class. She didn't hear anyone banging at the door. Alex drew into herself, appearing in that off-white dress as she entered the healing valley. There was no more door, and the giant flowers were healing the land more quickly than ever.

She'd done it! Alex had done it! By allowing Atol to stab her where the Gem was, she had finally gotten rid of Idolon! Hands over her mouth, Alex allowed a smile she wasn't sure she'd worn since before all of this happened. Tears came to her eyes, and the muscles in her cheeks began to ache.

There was no jumping or leaping for joy. Alex could only fall to her knees, staring out to where the door had once been. She was overcome by merriment and shock. She couldn't move; she couldn't breathe. She could only sit there and stare for a long moment as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Her mouth could no longer unbend from its wide smile, and Alex could easily dive down to grasp onto the happiness below.

Once she was able to compose herself, Alex stood back up and became pale blue light, going out beyond the mountains and returning to the physical world once again.

She had no idea how she lived through that attack, but she didn't care. Idolon was gone. That was the point. That was all she cared about. Idolon was gone, meaning the largest obstacle was out of the way. All that remained was getting her soul back from the Evils, and, compared to what she had been through with the "bitch in her head" the past few weeks, Alex deemed that this leg of the isolated trail would not be nearly as much of a challenge.

With Idolon out, Alex would be even freer to go through all of her memories and find out more about the Evils and how to get the _nazar_ away from their clutches.

"… said she… reckless, I didn't…"

"How… not…"

There was a sigh. "… dream… reality… not… how it…"

"… confusing."

_Amen,_ thought Alex with a mental sigh.

She decided to just not dwell on the hows of the universe. It would keep playing by its incomprehensible rules whether or not she (or anyone else) figured out how something worked.

Now, she was able to realize that the two voices going back and forth were Justin and Natasha, but it sounded like Natasha's voice was coming from a device—video chat most likely. She sounded frazzled and irked, and Justin sounded just as frazzled, though his voice was also heavily laced with worry, anxiety, and puzzlement.

This was not at all surprising. Alex had no idea how long she had been asleep, and she was able to tell that he had asked Natasha how something in Alex's dream could affect her in the real world. Based on Natasha's tone, she knew about the truth of reality and fantasy, though she had no idea how it worked and chose not to analyze it.

It sounded like Justin wanted to figure this entire thing out, but he was a man of science. It was in his nature to be inquisitive, but he was starting to learn that not everything could be known. He was being forced to admit that no matter how many NASA-scale equations he did in his free time, there were things beyond his grasp of understanding. He was being forced to admit not everything had an answer one could easily write down into a notebook or tuck into his or her memory. With the universe (not to even mention beyond it) being so vast and his life being so short, he would have to prioritize his gathering of knowledge and accept that he didn't need to know everything or how everything worked. It had to be hard for him, and Alex missed when he had been a proud know-it-all.

There was another voice—Harper's. Alex couldn't make out everything, but she managed to figure out that she was alerting the others that the girl lying in the infirmary's bed was beginning to awaken.

As the others grew silent and drew near her, Alex remembered when she had woken up in Atol's bed with him and Yin in the room. Her heart thudded at the thought, and her brow pinched, making someone gasp. There were some murmurs in obvious relief, and it sounded like Justin was holding Max back from flinging himself to her for a hug.

Such a motion did not sound like Max, but Alex could picture perfectly the look on his face back in CE4. There'd been a fierce glint in his dark brown eyes, and he'd scowled at Gabrielle as if wanting to take every terrible thing that had happened to him out on her.

In Casting II, he'd quickly risen to one of the top students, despite a few misfires due to his strong emotions, which he'd never been good at controlling.

In some ways, he was the same old Max. He made more doodles than notes in his laptop upon figuring out how to do it, the graphics looking like objects found in his favorite video games. He still avoided vegetables at lunch and dinner. He was still easily distracted. He still forgot the simplest of things, even though the big issues seemed to persist if the hardened look in his eyes was anything to go by.

There had been a few times Alex saw that he somewhat blamed her, but she could hear in the words her brain couldn't piece together that he loved her and was willing to do anything to help her. He still wouldn't brush his hair, usually forcing Justin to attack him with a comb, but he was willing to protect the one that caused all of this to happen?

It was so amazing. Alex knew she wasn't entirely to blame, but she knew that she was the biggest factor in this whole mess. She was so grateful that there were those willing to help her. She knew now that she would do anything for them. Hadn't she taken one of the biggest sacrifices one could give in her dream with Atol? Alex had been willing to sacrifice her life to protect those she loved.

Or had she?

This began to trouble Alex, and her eyelids fluttered, causing more whispers and taps on her shoulders and upper arms. She still could not move, and she thought she heard Natasha say something from wherever the laptop had been placed.

Instead, Alex only thought about that last part of the dream. The pain she had felt when the blade of her old sword impaled her was indescribable, but it had only been for a brief instant. There'd been fire and ice raging through the wound. The pain had been piercing, shooting, and throbbing. It was like lightning struck her over and over, followed by a hammer, moving throughout her skull and neck.

Only, they had needed to strike quickly in those milliseconds before Alex had blacked out.

She should have died.

But she didn't. She _wouldn't_.

"_To ensure that we would always be together and to show that we only belonged to each other, we mixed our auras to where you are a part of me and I am a part of you. We decided on this not long after I had been granted back my soul to receive immortality. You… never had one, and I did not want to risk losing you. So we did the ceremony. That way, even if you were killed, you would be brought back, because part of you also lived in me."_

That was what Atol had said to her the first time he visited her in a dream. Long ago, they had combined their auras—their _spirits_. They were connected much more intimately than other couples, and even if one died, as long as the other lived, he or she would be revived.

Atol had to have known this. He had to have known that killing her would ensure nothing but her coming back to life. What had been the point?

Idolon was gone.

Had that been the point? Had he known that killing her—even for that instant—would make Idolon go? Why had he not tried earlier? Why had Idolon stayed even after Natasha had shot her with that lightning bolt? Was it because Alex hadn't died—was only _near_ death before being brought back to health?

Was Atol waiting for something? Did he think that Alex should find her soul first? Did he lose his patience when her soul had been taken away by Madalene?

Nothing made sense, and Alex felt her elation fall into despair and cluelessness.

"—lex…"

It sounded like Justin, and Alex made a soft groan, only to have pain flare up in her throat and rocket through the front of her head. Her brow furrowed as her eyes squeezed shut, making the pain even worse, and she felt a hand go to her forehead, gently moving over to the crown of her head and back to pet her, mollify her. The hand barely touched her skin and hair, as if making sure not to cause her any more discomfort.

There were hushed tones, like what a mother said to an infant that was being fussy. The hand was small but well-worked, especially at the fingers. They weren't soft like Justin's hands, nor were the fingers long and delicate like Juliette's. In a few moments, Alex realized that it was Harper.

Trying to focus, Alex soon began to decipher the words, everyone now speaking in Etan. It sounded like they were alone, and she wondered if Head Master Dupont had requested for the nurse to leave them be—though, he'd most likely left someone to keep watch outside the door.

He had to be upset and irritated. He had to make up explanations and configure ways for everything to be worked out. Gabrielle's parents would be all over him, demanding something be done about their daughter. None of them would be able to explain what had happened to her, except maybe Head Master Dupont. Still, he would be unable to tell them, and the poor girl's state would remain a mystery. They were also bound to notice the missing Madalene, and Alex was sure that no true files would be found on her. She would become a ghost—another mystery to surround Wiztech.

"When she gets better," said Natasha from the laptop, "someone slap her for me."

It sounded like the laptop was on a nearby table, and Alex tried to open her eyes. The lids only came up to where her eyes were open in the narrowest of slits, however, and she was still unable to move her arms or legs. Her wings were numb beneath her, and she realized why she had always instinctively slept on her side or on her stomach as a child. Once she finally _did_ get up, her wings were going to be in quite a bit of pain.

"I can do it," Juliette chimed in.

There was silence, and Alex could imagine Justin giving her a look telling her "Not now". Unfortunately, her vision was blurred, making everyone look like blobs of color with a too-bright backdrop. They were all looming over her, and Alex dared not try to speak.

"With the wound in her head, she won't be able to talk for some time," the Notte sighed, sounding like she was regretful but not willing to give an apology, as it would end up as empty. "I'd be surprised if she could even see or hear us by now. I'm shocked she even managed to stay alive. I thought Natasha was mad to put her into a bed, insisting she'd wake up."

There was a comment from Natasha's end, but it was too low for Alex to hear. However, she heard Juliette hiss in response, so it had probably been insulting.

Still petting Alex's head, Harper informed, "The potions and medicine really helped, but it'll still take a week at the very least before she's well enough. At least, that's what Head Master said."

Vision beginning to clear, Alex saw the blob she recognized as Justin scratch the back of his head. "When I wished for her to not be able to talk on my eleventh birthday, I wasn't exactly picturing this."

"Is there anything else we can do?" questioned Max.

From the table to Alex's left, Natasha gave a sigh. "Just let her rest for now."

"She's been asleep for _weeks_!" Max argued.

"And she was _dead_ for almost five days," Natasha returned bluntly, making the others cringe. "I have no idea how she came back. That Seraphim didn't tell me much. The Divines did it, maybe, but the main thing is that she's alive, whatever the how. Either way, I could have sworn I told her not to do anything stupid!"

Making fire shoot down her spine and rage through her skull, Alex gave the faintest shake of her head, Harper immediately telling her to keep still before relaying to Natasha that Alex had just indicated that Natasha had said nothing of the sort.

"Well, it should have been implied," the High Commander of the Purities muttered. "Whatever. What's the state on that Gabrielle girl? I don't see her."

_What?!_ Alex screamed in her mind. _Wait, did Gabrielle _leave_? How? Is she still going to go to school here? Did her parents take her home? What's going on with her?_

Alex couldn't picture the Wizard wandering around with her mind to guide her. If left alone long enough, she may take bits of minds of others. It was these victims of Etamitlu Live monsters that had led the way to stories of zombies. They may not have rotting skin, but a few ended up as animated corpses if they got enough pieces of others' minds while still alive. It turned them into a combination of an Etamitlu Live and an Undead, and Alex couldn't bear thinking of Gabrielle as that, no matter how stupid she'd been or what she'd done. No one deserved that fate.

Turning to look at the screen of the laptop, Justin gave a shrug. "She left after a short physical with the nurse. She seemed fine—better than in that classroom. It was weird. She'd even wished Alex good luck in her recovery. This morning, she'd even brought up a flower for her."

"Huh?" Now Natasha sounded like the one that was bewildered. "What kind?" she asked slowly.

"Um…" Justin turned his eyes to the table on Alex's other side. "It looks like a violet, but they're beginning to wilt. Why?"

"Divinesdamn!" It sounded like Natasha threw her fist against the desk, making her laptop shift.

"What's a flower got to do with anything?" asked Max, his tone saying he was as confused as he might normally be—like when he had wondered why giving Gatobella a bath in orange soda had been a bad idea.

There was a deep intake of breath, showing that Natasha was trying to reign in her emotions and be the cool and collected leader she was expected to be—or _she_ expected herself to be. "You told me that that chick, Madalene touched her on the face, making her faint, right? And Juliette, you said that you felt like Gabrielle's energy seemed… frayed?"

"That's the best I can describe it." Juliette gave a nod of agreement. "I wasn't sure what to make of it."

"It sounds like she'd been willingly allowing Madalene to feed off of her mind, deteriorating her mental state."

"Like a zombie?" Max gasped, sounding almost excited. Most of his favorite video games had involved zombies.

Justin rolled his eyes, but Natasha replied, "In a way… Gabrielle shouldn't be able to make any coherent thoughts, though. Her logic and sanity should be gone, making her seem like the perfect candidate to try on the new designs for strait jackets."

"She seemed perfectly fine, though…" Harper sounded confused, and her hand paused at the crown of Alex's head.

The wilting violet. Gabrielle being fine. Idolon gone.

"Alex's wound," implored Natasha urgently. "Where exactly was it in her head? Front? Right above the spot between her eyebrows?"

"Yeah," Juliette answered, brow furrowing in puzzlement. "Why?"

Natasha answered with her own question. "Did you all know that Idolon, that being that had been trapped in Alex's mind, was a big fan of Magician literature? She had a copy of the original manuscript of _Beowulf_ from before the fire destroyed those pages lost to the ages, and she would sneak away to some of Shakespeare's plays after she discovered him after stealing the soul of a travelling actor."

"_Hamlet_…," Justin whispered, standing stock still, spine straight. "'I would give you some violets…'"

"'But they withered all when my father died,'" Juliette finished. "But… What…?"

"I'll get more people to your parents," Natasha assured. "I'll even bring them up to Celetsiakami if they agree. I think it's also time for you all to get moving as well. As soon as Alex is well, you'll be taken up to Celetsiakami so we can protect you and come up with a plan. I don't think Idolon would use the quote to its exact words. She's probably trying to say death is coming to scare you."

"Well it's working!" squeaked Harper. "What about my parents? New York!?"

"I have a few people in the city, don't worry," Natasha responded with a reassuring tone. "Now, let Alex have her rest."

Alex didn't want to rest. She wanted to fight the demoness possessing another poor girl, but the laptop was shut down. Everyone bid their goodbyes, wishing her a quick recovery and promising to be back soon. As the door closed, Alex had no choice but to close her eyes and focus on healing.

Pictures of Idolon now using Gabrielle's body as a vessel filled her mind. It was repulsive—even worse than her becoming a zombie. Without a mind to fight back against Idolon, her spirit and soul was forced to sit back and let Idolon make her body hers to control.

This couldn't be a coincidence. Alex had learned not to account anything as coincidence. No, Madalene had planned this. She wasn't a servant of Tiamat, Set, or any other leader of the Evils. She was a follower of Idolon, just like Yin.

The plan was still in motion, and Alex needed to get a way to stop it before it was too late.


	35. Ace of Pentacles

**Chapter 35: Ace of Pentacles**

"_A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind." - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi_

Gabrielle was gone. Just two days after she'd been discharged, she'd disappeared. Once again, the school was filled with gossip and puzzlement. Where could she have gone? Had she gone after Madalene? What had happened?

Of course, Claire Leblanc had been placed into the blame.

Alex didn't care. They could blame her all they wanted. All she cared about was Idolon. It'd been ten days since she woke up, but she still had trouble speaking, so she'd been trying to master speaking to people telepathically. It had drained a bit of her energy the first few times and made the pain in her head flare up, but, like with casting spells, she'd eventually learned how to send the messages with minimal energy being wasted.

She would try to focus, trying to figure out how to take energy from surrounding forces. The feel was like when Sakura had given her some of her energy, making her nauseous at first. Still, it was something, even if she could only now take energy from living things and only a bit at a time. It was progress, and that was all that mattered.

She needed to learn all she could to defeat Idolon, and Alex refused to do nothing, even if she _was_ bedridden. The nurse had let her start sitting up and walking by the fifth day after she awoke, and her appetite was now back as well. They'd been keeping her on a bland food diet, her meals mainly consisting of plain pasta, rice, steamed broccoli, wheat bread, tomato slices, corn, different types of beans, and many glasses of water that a nurse would personally make sure she drank.

The nurses often lectured her on drinking plenty of water to help rid her body of toxins, but, just like her teachers, Alex quickly learnt how to tune her out. She drank the water and ate the food, often having to choke down the broccoli and tomatoes. She knew the nurse was just trying to make her well again, and Alex had to admit that she'd need any bit of strength she could scrape up to go after Idolon.

The hairclip was back in place, keeping some strands away from Alex's face. She'd found it on the table after awakening and finding the strength to move more than her eyelids. Her head and neck still hurt, but she would move it little by little each day, trying to ignore the pain that would shoot down her spine. It lessened day after day, the injections of potion helping the process.

Every day, Justin, Max, and Harper visited. Juliette was usually there with Justin, but she had been getting some heat from students and professors since the incident as well, so she often holed herself up in the dorm room. Léon was trying to help things along and had even visited Alex once or twice with his cousin, often wary of the maln-grah.

A torrent of questions was always just behind the surface of his hazel eyes, but he'd stay silent, most likely waiting for Alex or Harper to tell him but not expecting them to do so. He had replaced the wilted violet—burned in a charms classroom, he had promised—with a vase of white carnations and some kind of puffy, yellow flower that Alex didn't know the name of.

Alex had never cared too much for flowers or helping her mom with the gardening. Still, the sight of them always reminded her of how much they all cared. It had mostly been Harper and Léon to chip in for the flowers, but Justin, Max, and Juliette had used a bit of their emergency money to get the blossoms for Alex.

By the end of the week, Alex was allowed to change into some shorts and a baggy T-shirt so she could go out onto one of the tracks outside with one of the coaches.

This was Coach Bernard, a lean man with short, ebony hair and dark eyes that made it look like his pupils had swallowed the irises. He would walk around the track with her, directing her posture, stride, and speed. They were still only walking, Alex's arms pumping at her sides as she made sure to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth. The worst part about the exercise was that she couldn't complain. She only used telepathy with her bothers, Juliette, or Harper. No one else knew she had the ability, and she was going to keep it that way.

After her morning walk with Coach Bernard, Alex was taken back to the infirmary and put back into the revealing, sterilized gown. Her hair was wet from the shower she'd taken afterwards, and she went back to her bed, finding Harper and a tray of food. Along with the plain, spiral pasta was corn, sliced bananas, some thin slices of tomatoes, and slices of potatoes. She also noticed Harper holding a small, paper bag by her, and she had that I-can't-believe-I-just-did-something-bad smile she sometimes wore. Alex had seen that nervously-giddy smile when Harper sent a text in class or took an extra cookie without the cafeteria lady noticing.

"_What's with the smile?"_ Alex inquired telepathically as she sat down on her bed and began to eat. She noticed that there was also some meat that looked almost like chicken or turkey. Before, they had only been giving her small portions of fish, which Alex had forced herself to eat, despite hating seafood (at least fish wasn't slimy like raw oysters). _"Run down the hallway with scissors?"_

The smile was wiped off of Harper's face with one of seriousness. "That is incredibly dangerous!" she hissed lowly so that the nurse wouldn't hear. "You shouldn't even joke about stuff like that!"

Shaking her head, Alex smirked. Even after everything, Harper was still Harper. That was a true blessing. Alex started eating the pasta—lightly salted this time—as she thought back to everything she and Harper had been through. Both had accepted the truth that had been hidden, and neither had run away.

Rather, they had both embraced what was, and Alex knew that she could never ask for a better friend. She didn't care that Harper had lied about what she really was. There'd been a very good reason for it, and it wasn't like Alex hadn't been keeping her own secret—however false it may have been. The past was the past. It was important, yes, but it shouldn't overshadow the present. Alex preferred to move forward.

"_Seriously,"_ asked Alex as she ate, _"what's in the bag?"_

The smile was back, and Harper placed it onto the movable table that held up Alex's tray. "It's dessert. I got you some pudding."

The maln-grah's eyes widened, and her lips parted. She had to quickly remind herself not to speak out loud. _"Thank you!"_ Alex set down the fork and threw her arms around her best friend, causing pain to fire down her spine. She groaned and sat back up, and Harper quickly pushed her back and went to get a chair so they could be face-to-face.

"You have to be careful, Claire."

"_Yes, Mom."_

The auburn-haired girl sighed. "Have you been able to think of anything?"

"_Madalene was definitely working for Idolon."_ Alex stuffed the rest of the pasta into her mouth before eating the meat—bland and dry. Ugh.

Alex couldn't wait until this diet was over and she could eat _real_ food. She hadn't had a hamburger since she was at Tribeca Prep, and she missed having cheese, butter, or some kind of sauce on almost all her foods. Yet, the only things she'd been allowed to add to her food lately were salt and pepper. Even then, though, it was in tiny amounts. To make things worse, the only dessert she'd been allowed was fruit salad!

How was that even dessert?! Alex was so thankful Harper had brought her something sweet. Alex had seen the pudding cups here. They were usually chocolate, vanilla, or tapioca, and there was usually a dollop of a sugary substance they passed off as whipped cream. That small cup would be enough to send Alex to paradise, even if only for a few seconds.

"That much we can gather." Harper sighed again. "You don't know where they'd go?"

"_Definitely not Tartarus. Too much of a risk of getting caught."_ Alex knew she was eating a little too quickly than the nurses liked, but Alex wanted to hurry up and get to the pudding before a nurse confiscated it. Suddenly, she paused after swallowing some corn.

_Ah, screw it!_ she hissed mentally and quickly dug into the bag, making sure to keep the cup of chocolate pudding with whipped cream out of sight of the two nurses currently in the infirmary. It looked like one was with a boy with the stomach flu, and the other was doing paper work.

A laugh escaped Harper's lips before her hand made it up in time to keep any sound from coming out of her mouth. She just watched Alex eat for a while. It was hard to savor the pudding and eat it quickly at the same time, but the cup was small, and it was soon back in the paper bag as Harper settled down.

"You have no idea where they'd go?"

It was a good thing there were so few people in the infirmary. Neither girl wanted an audience for this conversation (well, half a conversation from where they'd be listening), especially when Alex was already seen in a bad light by the majority of the school. She didn't need them carting her or Harper off to the psyche ward of a nearby hospital.

"_Hmm…"_ Alex began to eat the corn again, though much more slowly than before. _"I think I remember something about an island."_ Eyes closing as she ate, Alex thought back to the memory she'd gotten while exploring Idolon's mind. _"Harper, do you know anything about 'Nyneve's island'?"_

Looking down and lightly pinching her chin in thought, Harper cautiously replied, "Nyneve's a Faerie. There's thirteen, and they all rule over the Zodiac."

"_Aren't there only twelve signs though?"_ Alex started stuffing her mouth again. If there was a bigger benefit than not being overheard when using telepathy, it was that she could talk with her mouth full all she wanted.

"Yeah, but there's supposed to be two Faeries for Gemini—you know, twins?" Harper responded, looking back up at her friend. "I think Nyneve's one of those water signs. Either Aquarius or Pisces, I think. It's said that each Faerie has a special power and a weapon, and they live alone on an island. The twelve islands are scattered throughout the universe, and they move from one place to another at random. There's a story, though, that if you _really_ want to enter the island, you have to travel there by boat—rowed—and wait. Usually, there's heavy mist, and if you're admitted, you'll see the mist fade, revealing the island. Seeing the _Faerie_, however, is another matter. They don't always show themselves in person. They usually just go into mortals' dreams or drop subtle hints here and there. I think they're supposed to be the children of Divines or work with nature like Kinsamas. There's tons of different stories."

"_Ugh, this is complicated,"_ Alex complained. _"You know where Nyneve's island might be?"_

"Either around the UK or Ireland, most likely. I think I heard my mom mention the Celtic Sea before," Harper answered with a shrug. "You know the story about King Arthur?"

"_Dude that pulled the sword out of the stone?"_

"Yeah, him." The thoughtful look returned. "It's said the sword had been presented by the Lady of the Lake. She's also known as the Lady of the Mist, and one of her names is Nyneve."

"_And you know all this, how?"_

"I read some books about King Arthur when I was stuck in bed after getting my tonsils out."

"_Ah."_ That was the year Alex had gone to visit her, letting Harper borrow her entire collection of magazines to read. She'd figured they wouldn't be touched, through Harper _had_ gone through an article or two (usually about relationships) when she'd finished a pile of books and was waiting for her dad to bring her up more. _"Well, that island is where Idolon had me hide the mantle to the Aurora Talisman a long time ago."_

It was almost scary how easily Alex was able to say "me" rather than "Seraphina".

Harper's eyes widened greatly, and her voice became even lower than ever as she glanced nervously at the three other people currently in the infirmary. "You didn't say anything about the Aurora Talisman."

In mid-chew, Alex paused to meet Harper's eyes, seeing the fear shining over them. _"You know what it is?"_

"_Everyone_ does. It's, like, the legend of legends. It's said to be an artifact so powerful, Leorensenka and Tisanisenka Themselves had to hide it away from both mortals _and_ immortals. The only way to get the Talisman is to collect all of the Seven Gems."

Alex swallowed and set her fork down. _"What does it do exactly?"_

"No one really knows," the auburn-haired girl admitted, finally blinking. "Some say it can make a person just as powerful as Leorensenka and Tisanisenka. Others say that it can give the person control over the Divines. I've also heard that it's so powerful, most people would die in horrible ways just from _touching_ it."

The maln-grah shuddered at the last part. _"Well, Idolon is planning something with it."_

"How? And how does she even _have_ part of it?"

"_It's a long and _utterlyconfusing_ story."_ Alex wanted to sigh—a sigh in her mind didn't sound the same in her mind than out loud, however.

She pushed the tray aside, not wanting to eat anymore. She and Harper sat in silence for a while before Justin came in, setting his messenger bag down by the table that held the laptop. Natasha hadn't contacted them in a couple days. Things were getting pretty hectic in Celetsiakami by what they've heard.

He gave Alex a light, one-armed hug. "Feeling better?"

Remembering not to nod, Alex opened up her mind a bit so she could speak to the two of them at once. _"As good as I can be, I guess. How's the school?"_

She wasn't talking about the classes, and Justin knew it. "Pretty chaotic. Almost as bad as Tribeca when they found that 'hit list' in the boy's bathroom four years ago."

The "hit list" had been a tactless prank that had gotten even Alex riled up. On the wall in some stall in the upstairs boy's bathroom, there'd been a hit list with nearly fifty names. Below it had been the date the "shooting" was supposed to go down, and over half of the school had stayed home that day.

There had been police officers and even some FBI agents stationed around the building, but the Russo parents had been completely ignorant of the threat until Alex and Justin had gotten home, the latter in tears and the former steaming with rage. To her, that hadn't been a prank. She knew what pranks were; she had been the _queen_ of them in Tribeca Prep—possibly even all of Manhattan.

Filling dodge balls with grape and strawberry jelly or using chalk paint to graffiti the lockers (it was totally washable, so it wasn't like Alex had really done any harm) was fun.

But _threatening to kill forty-seven students_?! _Including her brother_?!

That had _not_ been a prank. It had been cruel and mind-bogglingly stupid. Those two idiots that had come up with it using the two brain cells shared between them should have been glad they'd gotten arrested before Alex could have gotten her hands on them. _Nobody_ threatened her brother by her. Period.

"_I'd take that over this any day." _Again, Alex's sigh sounded more like a wisp of breath passing from her mind to Justin's.

The older boy gave a smile that held sorrow and longing, tugging at his sister's heart. "You might have even graduated next year," he teased. "Maybe even become an officer in Book Club."

That sad smile was soon mirrored back to Justin on the girl's face, making Harper reach out for her hand. _"You know what I keep thinking? I never even cracked open that book. Joan had even made it sound kinda interesting."_

"_You_ excited about a _book_?" Justin snorted, a bit of laughter finally rising to his eyes.

Meeting her gaze, Harper smiled as Alex stuck out her tongue. "You have to admit that it's a little funny. Some of us didn't even know you _could_ read."

"_Ha-ha." _Alex rolled her eyes and then blinked at the sudden shot of pain through her forehead. _"Looks like Joan went through the trouble to get the book to me early for nothing."_

The redhead's innocent face filled her mind, and Alex's mouth became a straight line as she prayed for the girl's recovery and safety. _All she wanted was to help._

"She got the book to you early?" A hint of a chuckle was clinging to Justin's voice. "She heard about how slow of a reader you were, huh?"

The two girls looked at him questionably, Harper murmuring, "She said _you_ told her to give her the book."

This time, Justin took on the questioning look, seeming to be taken aback. "No. Until that dinner, I'd never even spoken to Joan except maybe once or twice in the tutoring center to quiz her on vocabulary. I didn't know she even _knew_ Alex."

Eyes becoming distant, something clicked in the back of Alex's mind. _"Oh crap."_


	36. The Fool

**Chapter 36: The Fool**

"_Classic' - a book which people praise and don't read." - Mark Twain_

The yellow tape reminded Alex of a crime scene. Only, the murderer was one that had always gotten away and always _would_ get away. _This_ murderer seemed to have been given the right to decide who lived or died, yet it looked as if the killer had gotten bored with analyzing and just decided to go on a mindless spree. Anyone that escaped, escaped. Those that didn't… Well, it was no skin of her nose.

In pictures, Mother Nature was depicted as peaceful, a smile on her face, twirling merrily with birds and cute little creatures, and sunlight making her seem so wonderful and magical. Looking at what had once been the sub shop, though, Alex could see Mother Nature for what she was: Harsh and unfeeling; she didn't like it when the very creatures she housed turned on her and built themselves up as unbeatable. She often corrected them in the cruelest of ways, trying to put them back into place.

Unfortunately, this message was always forgotten, forcing it to be repeated.

Alex didn't want this message to be repeated. She couldn't imagine this happening again. Staring at the rubble and unstable walls and posts, the girl felt tears prickle at her eyes. This had been her home. It'd been the only home she'd ever known, and it wasn't until now she realized she'd actually cared about it. Before, she'd been planning on finding an apartment for herself as soon as she graduated, probably with Harper. Those dreams had been shot down in minutes, about three months ago.

To think she'd been worried about college or work. She wasn't sure if she had those options anymore.

What future _was_ there for her? She had to defeat Idolon, but, if that miracle came to be, _then_ what?

Would she go to Celetsiakami? Avalon? Would she go to see her birth parents? Would she be allowed? Would she even be able to bring herself up to do it?

Standing on the sidewalk in front of the devastated building covered with strips screaming **DANGER: DO NOT CROSS**, Alex barely felt the chill of spring still testing the air and waiting for just the right time to make the temperature suddenly jump.

Hardly anyone paid Alex any attention. There were so few people out. The city was more silent than Alex could ever remember. Even on that day so many years ago, Alex couldn't remember everyone being so silent. It was like New York City was in a complete daze, still trying to figure everything out.

As she had walked towards Waverly Place, Alex had seen government officials. DC had sent in people to help restore the major city, and any nearby hospitals were finally starting to become less crowded. Most skyscrapers had received minimum damage, metal skeletons still in place. Still, people went without electricity or heat, and the soup kitchens and shelters were busier than ever.

They'd been some of the first buildings to be restored, and groups from all over had quickly rushed to lend a helping hand, providing clothes, toiletries, diapers, food, and even portable heaters and extra batteries. The only vehicles Alex saw were medical vans carrying donated blood as well as people still working to clear the streets.

A gentle hand held onto Alex's shoulder, but she hardly noticed. She wore a long sweater, a thick scarf that covered the lower half of her face, and leather gloves. Everything was black, making Alex think she was heading to a funeral. Maybe she was. She'd known so many people here. Were they alright? Nellie? Her sister, Karen? Zeke? Mr. Laritate? Mrs. Carson? Sierra? Monica? Tanner?

Who had died?

Who had lived?

Who was still in the hospital?

Had there been enough medicine for everyone? Alex had watched some medical dramas a few years ago before she had gotten bored with them, moving on to shows like_ Law and Order_, _CSI_,and _NCIS_.

In the shows, there had been times they had needed to order medicine. Hospitals didn't just have some hole in the wall where they could get all the medicine that was.

Some people had needed to be left alone for some time so others could be cared for first. Not to mention there couldn't be enough doctors or nurses for _everyone_. Alex was always hearing about a "nurse shortage" in school, especially when the AP Government kids went at it. Who had needed to wait for hours just to get treated? Who had been writhing in pain in a room or hallway, waiting for someone to finally come his or her way?

"You don't have to go in," Jasmine whispered with sympathy.

She was mindful of her sharp nails as she kept her hand on Alex's shoulder, russet eyes shining with concern. The wind whistled through her long hair, and her other hand was stuffed deep into the small pocket of her sweater.

Taking a deep breath, Alex watched the wisp of mist get assaulted by the wind as she exhaled. "No, I have to. That book is in there somewhere." Her voice was hoarse and low, and the vibrations irritated her throat. Even after almost two weeks of recovering and physical therapy, just speaking still caused pain.

"Are you sure it's in the book?"

"It has to be." Alex was conscious of the desperation in her voice. Even as that sentence exited her mouth, it echoed through her mind, unable to escape:

_It has to be. It has to be. It has to be. It has to be. It has to be._

After a deep breath, Jasmine motioned towards the ruins with both hands. "After you."

Gingerly, Alex stepped forward, ducking under a stretch of blaring-yellow tape without touching it. She kept her steps light, keeping in mind how unstable the structure was now. It'd be years before most of the buildings would be rebuilt, but the maln-grah refused to tell herself that things would go back to normal.

Sure, the masses may eventually forget the disaster, as many often did, but the memories would still be hanging in the air for those that could never forget. The true horror would die with them given enough time, but there would be a memorial. Descendants would leave flowers, candles, and photos in memory, but that was all it would be.

That was all it took.

Memory was the final weapon the dead had in their arsenal against the living. Whether they wanted to fight or not, the weapon was still used repeatedly. Memories were what the living used to essentially attempt suicide, but the physical body could not be killed purely by this ever-present weapon.

It was the mind and spirit that were affected. This was something Alex knew well. As she tread lightly over the rubble, searching for the book and hoping it had fallen to the first floor, all of those faces kept flooding back into her mind, watching silently. They said nothing to her, but Alex preferred that they scream and curse—anything but the deadly predator constantly circling.

As always, there was a way to keep this weapon at bay, but Alex wasn't ready to take that solution. She'd much rather keep pulling the trigger, praying for the bullet to finally leave the barrel and end it all.

"It's not in the kitchen." Jasmine kept her voice low, knowing that even the slightest of wrong moves could bring down a wall or partial ceiling down on top of them. "See it by the tables?"

"No," Alex whispered, her voice sounding like she had just gotten her tonsils out that morning.

Bright eyes shining, Jasmine just stared for a moment. Finally, she blinked. "Which one of us is lighter? We can't both go to the second or—Leorensenka, please forbid—the third floor. While one of us goes up, the other can keep watch."

"It's my soul, so I'll go," Alex insisted, coming closer to the Eagleite. "Besides, you're in better condition to fight as a guard."

Jasmine looked almost relieved at the suggestion. "Alright. Make it quick, and I'll walk around the street."

"Got it."

Before going up the spiral staircase, Alex watched as Jasmine left. She couldn't believe how everything was going. It seemed like they'd finally caught a break, but how long would it be before Idolon realized that the _nazar_ didn't hold Alex's soul? This was definitely a race against time, but that didn't sound quite right. After what Idolon had done, it sounded like time had been the loser, crushed and tossed over the demoness's shoulder when she enclosed her mind, spirit, and soul into the Gem of Thought.

It was the moment for time to get revenge, which was where Alex came in. Only, time was lazy and refused to fight its own battles. Rather, it had others fight them for it, as it observed from afar and never offered any help to the poor sucker dragged into the fight.

Alex knew she wasn't completely on her own, though. Justin, Max, and Juliette were in the process of getting moved to a new place. Harper's mom was fine—though shaken—and her dad had minimal injuries. Her stepmom, however, is currently in intensive care, but Harper was just glad to hear that they were all alive.

She and Léon would stay at Wiztech, but Head Master Dupont pledged that he would watch over them and make sure they were safe. Harper was supposed to have returned to New York City already, but, under the circumstances, she'd been allowed to stay as long as was needed. Harper had been telling Alex about it in the hospital.

"_My dad can usually only pay to have me stay a few weeks," Harper informed as Alex ate some chicken noodle soup, "but Head Master Dupont pulled a few strings so that I can stay until the end of the new semester. I'll be going back to New York in June. Albany, most likely. Leslie has family there, and that's where she was sent once she was stabilized."_

"That's good,"_ Alex replied telepathically, trying to be happy for her._

_Only, she didn't know if she'd be able to go back with Harper. Alex didn't know anything beyond the current mission. It was like those early years of high school all over again. After the graduation ceremony ended, Alex would have no idea what to do next. Work? Military? College?_

_Right now, it looked like she had a combination of all three, but she didn't even have her degree yet! It was something small to complain about, but that had been Alex's only real dream in academics—to have Mr. Laritate hand her that diploma, wearing an expression that said he wasn't sure how she made it this far but that he was proud of her._

_Mr. Laritate had been the only teacher that hadn't given up on Alex. Suddenly, she was hoping he'd survived the earthquake and was well._

_Harper was about to say something when a box opened up on the laptop screen, bringing it back to life. Leaning over, Harper accepted the video call, and adjusted the laptop so that Alex could get a good view without having to move._

"_Hey." Natasha gave a big smile, and by how the camera was shaking slightly and how it caught her image, it seemed she was holding her tablet in her hands. "I have someone who wants to speak with you." Without waiting for a response, Natasha put the tablet down, propping it up on a table at the foot of a hospital bed, and the webcam focused on Joan, who gave a small wave._

_The spoon fell from Alex's hand, making a nurse look over before she got back to her paper work._

"_Hello, Alex. It is nice to see you again as well, Harper." The pale girl had her hair pulled back in a French braid, and her bangs had been pinned back to show her deep-set eyes and thin eyebrows. "I hope you are feeling well."_

_Alex gave a nod. Her telepathy could only work up to a certain distance, so whenever Natasha usually called and asked her something that wasn't a "yes" or "no" question, Alex would give the answer to Harper or Justin, who'd answer for her._

"Tell her I know about the book,"_ Alex instructed her friend._

_Staring at the pallid girl on the screen with a bag feeding her blood through a needle in her arm, Harper informed, "She knows about the book."_

_Those chapped, thin lips pulled into a smile. "I knew you would." Her attention was on Alex, knowing that she was using Harper as her voice. "I hope you understand why I was unable to tell you about it sooner."_

_Alex gave a nod, taking in Joan's image. She was alright. _"How do I get it out?"

_Harper repeated the question, and the small girl's smile fell._

"_You know I cannot answer that, but, be assured, I did my best to make sure you would figure it out."_

Once Jasmine was past the tape, Alex tiptoed over to the stairs, testing each step before going up. The entire thing shuddered twice, making Alex freeze and wait, but she made it to the loft, jaw dropping at the crumbled walls, shattered pieces of the lamps, windows, and chandelier, and gaping holes in the floor. There was no way for Alex to describe the chaos, and she was frightened to even step onto the part of the floor left. She noticed that the far, two-person couch was gone, and Alex remembered seeing parts of it downstairs in the sub shop. Things from upstairs littered the area, and Alex looked up, seeing dead wires and the edges of items she hoped wouldn't fall on top of her.

Carefully, she moved over towards the eating area, testing every step before putting down her whole weight. She searched for almost ten long minutes before she allowed a breath of relief, finding the book under some rubble by the coffee table. Alex was very careful, but the cover was nearly torn off, and the spine was bent. That wouldn't damage her soul, right?

Heart pounding, Alex flipped through the book, unable to wait any longer. There were twenty-nine highlights.

Twenty-nine. Those were the magical numbers when zero was included. Joan had to have made one of those highlighted passages the way to get Alex's soul out of the book and into her body. Only, which one? Alex only remembered numbers 4, 7, 8, 10, and 12. She sort-of remembered 28, but which would Joan choose?

Standing there, looking through the bent and torn pages, Alex thought about all of the time she had spent with Joan. She had to have known that Alex wouldn't memorize the meanings of all twenty-eight numbers. She also had no way of knowing _which_ numbers Alex _would_ memorize or if she'd even memorize _any_.

Suddenly, it hit her, and Alex began flipping just past the middle, making sure to count so she'd make sure she was on the right highlighted passage. It was passage ten.

10 was balance.

There had been ten of them in the forest during Alex's training.

The number hadn't been random, and Alex had to count each person—Joan and herself included—before she could be sure. She was, and this was finally it. Her heart seemed to be trying to break out of her ribcage as Alex read over the passage, smiling. Of _course_ this would be the passage Joan chose as the invocation.

Swallowing, Alex read it aloud, voice low but clear: "'The best books, he perceived, are those that tell you what you know already.'"

Immediately, Alex felt the ground beneath her shift as her vision was flooded by ice-blue light. Intense heat burst within her chest, roaring through her veins. Throat burning, Alex shrieked in agony as she fell through the crumbling floor, Jasmine screaming her name.


	37. Queen of Cups

**Chapter 37: Queen of Cups**

"_Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other." - Samuel Johnson_

Opening her eyes, Alex saw that she was in an empty lot. She could point out where walls stood, and there were still bricks and cinderblocks interspersed around the area. Bits of grass sprouted through cracks in the foundation, almost like a trophy of the cruel Mother Nature. The sight made Alex's heart ache, but she wasn't necessarily sure why.

A few blades of grass were nothing to cry over. Would she just bawl her eyes out if she were to head over to Central Park? Mother Nature was just trying to put one of her worlds back into balance.

Yeah, that was it.

Tragedies hit all the time. It was up to everyone else to either ignore the lessons or learn from them.

This thought didn't make Alex feel any better. If anything, her heart grew heavier, and her half-open eyes stung even more. She gritted her teeth, feeling the need to just scream at the top of her lungs. She'd never been adverse to tantrums before, but those had always just been ways to get what she wanted.

This time, it felt like the only outlet to the agony condensing within her chest. It seemed to have a beat that kept trying to be in sync with her heart but was always a nanosecond too late. It had expanded with each beat, crushing her lungs and stomach like they were being surrounded by stones; making her back prickle like ultra-thin needles were being pressed into it; and made her throat throb like she was attempting to swallow a block of lead.

Her head pounded like when she'd woken up in the Wiztech infirmary, and her arms and legs were numb and felt heavy. It was like being immobile in that hospital bed once more, but this deep-seeded pain was like none Alex had ever experienced before.

Now, she knew what it was like to feel like her heart was breaking, threatening to destroy the rest of her body with it.

This was the only way these new, _deep_, emotions could make sense in her crumbling mind.

Everything she should have felt from the very beginning—even as Seraphina—flooded back like a tsunami knocking her head over heels and heaving her against a cliff's side. There was no escape, and Alex had no idea how long she could hold her breath before she would suffocate.

"… Alex?"

It was Jasmine's voice, but Alex couldn't find the strength to answer. She could see every face.

Why were they so quiet?

Why did they not look at her in anger of hatred?

Their eyes shimmered, and one little boy seemed to hold out his hand towards her.

That did it.

A scream was ripped from Alex's lungs, but a hand clapped down on her mouth after just a second, muffling the shrill sound.

"Hush!" Jasmine hissed, her scarf slipping to show the flat, narrow bridge of her nose. "I took you to another part of Manhattan. After that collapse, some people went running to the shop, trying to figure out what happened." She spoke furiously in a whisper. "You have to keep calm, you understand?"

Trying to shut everyone out of her mind, Alex managed a shaky nod. She bit down into her bottom lip until she tasted blood.

The Eagleite let her just lay there as she tried to collect herself and sort through these novel feelings. It was like the ice beneath her had broken and she was now in the middle of the lake of emotions without any knowledge of how to swim. Most people had to _learn_ to deal with emotions, didn't they?

There was always a parent or someone nearby to hold them when the tears came. Or there was a favorite toy or some sort of hobby to help them get through it.

Harper and Joan had written in diaries. Justin had done math problems or made plans for a new robot. Her mom had cooked and baked. Her dad had watched TV. Max hadn't usually seemed to show much deep emotion, but Alex was sure that his video games had acted as a sort of escape.

If Alex had ever felt like she was nearing such emotions, she painted or played drums. That was the closest she had ever come to these feelings, but they had sometimes come out of nowhere, the smallest upset setting her off into a fit she couldn't explain. Anger and confusion had been what she had usually felt, but she had sometimes felt a pang in her chest.

Now, that seemed to have been magnified at least one-hundred times—maybe one-thousand.

She couldn't paint this time. All of her canvases and paint were in her old room, now destroyed. She had no one to talk to.

There was Jasmine, but Alex couldn't bring herself to tell her anything.

How was she supposed to deal with this? She had never been a child that had craved the hugs of her parents—she hadn't even liked them much. She had never been one to let anyone see her sweat, let alone cry. That had been why she preferred tantrums. They had covered up everything else to where even she hadn't been able to tell she'd felt anything else.

"Alex…?" Concern was laced through Jasmine's voice. "We should get out of the city. Are you okay enough to fly? High Commander Landon can have a portal ready for us back to—"

"Ireland," Alex coughed, spraying blood. She attempted to come forward to sit on her knees like the way Max did at his karate classes. However, she only succeeded in falling, scraping her chin against dirt and gravel when her hands came too late to catch her.

"Easy now," whispered the Eagleite, helping her up so that she sat back on her heels, a thin and torn-up blanket covering her back. "Ireland? We need to get you—"

"Nyneve's Island," Alex said after gulping down some air before sputtering again, left forearm coming up to cover her mouth. "I…" Alex blinked hard, trying to make her heart slow down but to no avail. "Something hidden… need…" She gasped again, Jasmine reaching under the blanket, sweater, and Alex's wings to rub her back.

Lifting her other hand, Jasmine rubbed the side of her head to pull down her sleeve as she pressed down on Alex's back so that the girl faced the ground as she fought to breathe.

Jasmine pulled down her scarf, revealing a tiny nose that curved down at the point as well as lips that were so thin, they were barely there. She used her pointy chin to press the center design on her communicator bracelet, quickly pulling her scarf back up before bringing her bracelet close to where her mouth was. "Connect me to High Commander Landon."

There was a low **click** before Alex heard Natasha's voice: "Has she got it?"

"Yes, but by the looks of things, she might need more recovery."

Alex tried to rise and say she was fine, but Jasmine kept a firm hold. The maln-grah was too weak at the moment to try and fight her.

"That's to be expected," said Natasha with a small sigh. "She's lived without it for centuries, and with all that's happened to her in such a short time, it's finally really affecting her. I want her back in Celetsiakami. I can open a portal in the state park she practiced in with Joan and the others. It'll be where you first met with her to fly back to her house."

"N-no…," Alex whispered hoarsely, blood dripping over her chin. She licked her bottom lip, trying to help the bleeding.

There wasn't much time! She could rest later. Not only was Idolon out in a new body, but she knew where the parts of the Aurora Talisman were being kept as well! Alex couldn't remember how many shards had been found already, but she couldn't take the chance. She had to get that Talisman before the monster did!

Jasmine's thick eyebrows moved towards one-another, bright eyes shining with worry as she looked over at Alex.

"She wants to go to Ireland. She mentioned Nyneve's Island and said something was hidden there. Do you know anything about it?"

Natasha didn't speak for a few moments, which told both Jasmine and Alex she did and was trying to start and get a plan in order. "I believe I do, and we'll set up a team to head there immediately. And Alex, I know you can hear me, and I'm going to say this so we are clear: _Do not do anything stupid_!"

With the last five words, each syllable was separate for extra emphasis.

"I told you no playing the hero," the High Commander continued. "Jasmine, she still has that communicator bracelet I gave her?"

"Yes, ma'am," replied Jasmine.

"Good. Alex, with your soul back, all of your memories will be crashing into you even harder. You thought those dreams were bad? There's no telling how bad this will be. All of those memories coming back at such a rapid pace takes a major toll, and I want you here where our doctors can keep an eye on you."

Somewhere in the background on Natasha's end was a snide remark: "And hopefully she doesn't try to escape like a _certain_ Vampire."

There was then a hiss, likely Natasha at whoever had just spoken, and Alex managed a chuckle before another round of coughing.

"Fine," said Alex, finally beginning to be able to breathe regularly (more or less). "Just one condition."

"I have a bad feeling about this," mumbled Natasha as Jasmine sighed and shook her head.

Alex took a deep breath and continued: "I want to be part of the team that goes to the island. You said this was my second chance." She took another breath, one hand going to her chest to clutch at her thundering heart. "I should be the one that makes this right."

Puzzlement rose to Jasmine's large eyes, but she didn't' say anything.

Instead, Natasha answered, "If you hadn't been stabbed in the head a few weeks ago, I'd be more inclined to agree."

Blinking, Jasmine's puzzlement grew along with great concern, but she looked to be saving her questions for later.

"Yeah, well, that wasn't exactly my fault. Lovers' quarrels can get out of hand, you know?" Alex tried for another laugh but only coughed before sucking down more air.

Natasha gave a groan, but there was laughter in the background. "We'll see if we can heal you, but I want your ass in Celetsiakami pronto," she ordered. "Can you guys fly to the park, or does Jazz have to send coordinates?"

"I have enough energy to transport us," Jasmine answered after a look at Alex. "I'm wearing my moonstone, so it'll help."

"Alright." Natasha took a breath. "The portal will appear not long after you get there. Alex, we'll do what we can, but I mean what I said about you doing anything stupid, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't call me 'ma'am'." Natasha's tone was deadpan.

"Jasmine did." She started to sit up as the Eagleite took her hand away from her back.

"Yeah, but when you say it, it sounds sarcastic."

Alex opened her mouth just as a **click** came from the bracelet, announcing that the connection was cut.

Jasmine gave a short giggle. "She's right, actually. Now, I have to hold you close for this spell, but I'm pretty sure you're having trouble sitting up on your own anyway."

"Little bit," Alex murmured, one hand going up to the side of her pounding head. She felt like she was going to vomit but held it in, and the tears kept coming no matter how hard she tried to make them stop.

Swallowing, Alex let Jasmine hold her close as she recited a short incantation in a language the maln-grah didn't know. The hurricane inside her refused to calm, Alex feeling as if she might tear apart. She couldn't stand seeing all of those faces, she couldn't stand hearing all of those voices and cries.

Why did it have to be guilt that hit her first, hit her the hardest? Why did it have to create a dark pit of despair that threatened to swallow her like a black hole swallowing light?

Within moments, the two girls were next to the stream in Harriman State Park, Alex remembering that game. The memory of the attack then slammed into her head, making her double over, Jasmine getting out of the way just in time when Alex heaved, her breakfast ending up on the rocks. Her throat and mouth burned as the noxious taste lingered on her tongue, and Alex heaved again, Jasmine holding back her hair and whispering words to try and calm her.

Guilt. Fear. Remorse. Anxiety.

It all hit Alex with enough force that she thought she'd end up in the creek.

Hatred. Wrath.

Alex wanted to scream until her lungs burned, but she could only dry-heave.

Sorrow. Despair.

The black hole grew nearer, and Alex could only wonder if her soul was truly worth all of this tremendous pain.

Mind trying to sift through all of these emotions, Alex didn't notice the deep green portal opening or Jasmine pushing her through it. She thought she heard shouting and orders being barked, and she felt her sweater and shirt being taken off as something was secured over her mouth and nose. Air flowed into her as she was laid down on what felt like a narrow bed, but when it began to get pushed as more orders were barked, Alex registered it being a gurney.

Alex tried to focus on where she was, what was happening. Only, she was unable to do so. Her mind was still trying its hardest to go through everything she was feeling, scenes flashing through her mind's eye at lightning speed. They were out of order, no sense to be made. She was on overload, conscious of her muscles beginning to flinch to where her limbs flailed and back arched.

Strong hands pushed her down, straps going over her body as the yelling became more frantic. The gurney came to a stop, Alex only slightly aware of a needle going into her arm before another wave of pain knocked her out.

**xxx**

_How many times can I go unconscious in a year?_

The thought was sluggish as Alex rose back into awareness, though everything remained dark when her eyelids refused to open at her command. For a second, Alex panicked about having lost control again before remembering that Idolon was no longer in her body.

She was in Gabrielle's.

Everything came flooding back again, a loud beeping noise blaring in Alex's right ear as her muscles seized again, body bound to a narrow bed. The straps kept her from moving too much, and Alex heard some shouting over the loud beeping as images raced through her brain at breakneck speed, making her ill. She shook and seized even more, her body refusing to any orders that couldn't make it past the racing images and voices that all ran together in an indecipherable jumble.

One shout rose above the others, but Alex realized it was outside, not in her mind. Still, she could not comprehend the words, and she soon felt a series of pricks down her arms and legs, which were being held down. The images then began to slow, but the pain rose.

Alex's heart seemed to be trying to shatter her ribcage, her spine and stomach seemed to be in a knot-tying contest, and her head pounded so much, she briefly wondered if she'd been stabbed again.

The pain rocketed through her body in waves, but she could not scream or do anything else as a release, and one specific image stopped in Alex's mind before moving on in an entire scene.

It was the first time she'd taken a soul, her mentor, Caedmon waiting a few feet back. Seraphina had been haunting the Azizir for months, feeding on her fear. A zolak-gai's main power was to turn into shadow, and the Azizir had grown paranoid, sensing a presence following her but not knowing who, what, or what to do about it. Now, Seraphina crouched over the weakened body, Caedmon giving advice so as to not lose the Soulstone.

Guilt fueled the pain, making it even worse as it crashed through every vein, ignited every nerve. Alex couldn't take it, and, finally, she screamed. She thought she heard people jump back in shock, but all she could focus on was the high-pitched noise that strained her throat and left her lungs empty. She gulped down a huge breath and screamed again and again until the pain finally ebbed, leaving Alex alone in the darkness as she drifted away from consciousness, body trembling.

_***kneels to ground to where my forehead touches the floor* I am so sorry! Je suis désolé! I know it's been very long, but this story is being finished. Right now, it looks like there will be either 43 or 44 chapters in all, depending on what I decide about the epilogue (I am currently typing up chapter 43). I do not know if the ending will be satisfying with how long you've had to wait, but I really do hope you all enjoy the rest of "Memories".**_


	38. The High Priestess

**Chapter 38: The High Priestess**

"_Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will." - Jawaharlal Nehru_

Moments after the pain passed, Alex found herself in a dark area, the ground veiled by blue-tinted mist. For a moment, she thought she was back in that room that had connected her mind with Idolon's, but soft light soon began to bathe the area, Alex pushing herself up to her knees as she looked up. Bright dots that had to be stars dotted the inky space above, mountains rising in the distance to surround the area. The ground rumbled, tall grass sprouting. Alex's heart rate began to finally slow, silver eyes stinging with the tears that had been spilling for she couldn't remember how long.

It was not long before the land now looked like that valley deep in Alex's mind; only it was night, the full moon giving everything a wash of silver that made the long, off-white dress donning her body almost glow.

Kneeling in the center of the valley, Alex looked around, feeling puzzled. Yet, she was also becoming calm, the agony from earlier just a memory.

"My dear Seraphina…"

The voice came from all over, Alex's head whipping around as she jumped to her feet, stumbling. She scanned the landscape before sensing a presence behind her. Her heartbeat stayed steady, however, intuition telling her just who the voice belonged to.

Slowly turning, the girl's eyes widened upon seeing a tall woman with dark blue hair that cascaded down to barely an inch above her ankles. Her skin was so pale, it actually reflected the moon's light, contrasted by a knee-length, dark violet dress and black boots that hugged her calves. The dress only had one sleeve, which was long and ended in a bell shape that covered the fingers of her right hand, and on her other forearm was what looked like two straps—one at the wrist and one about an inch below the elbow, a thick, grey wire hugging the woman's forearm and connecting the black straps.

Around the woman's waist was a thick, ebony belt, a sheathed sword strapped over her left hip and a dagger over her right. Around her neck was a charm like what Alex had seen on the end of the chain in the valley: orange sun with golden rays; three purple crescent moons, backs touching; and a light blue eight-pointed star in the very center. It was the crest of Avalon, and it rested on the woman's collar bone, hanging by a dark violet ribbon. Her thin lips curved into a smile when she saw Alex's eyes on it, and she took a step closer.

"I am so proud of you," said the woman, her silver eyes shimmering. There was an echo to her voice that seemed to ring through the entire land.

This was Nirabella Sataruskasenka, one of the two Einharuns of Mzrisknu.

And also Alex's birth mother.

Eyes prickling with hot tears and shoulders and wings beginning to tremble, Alex slowly shook her head. "How could you possibly…" Tears escaped, marking her dark cheeks. "Possibly… be…"

With Nirabella's long legs, the space between her and Alex was closed within only a few strides. Her hands had calluses and were cool as they held the girl's hands, thumbs making circles in her palms as if requesting invitation. After a moment, Alex swallowed and stepped forward. The top of her head came to the woman's small chin, which she rested on her daughter's crown. Nirabella moved her long arms to embrace the girl, her thick hair fanning around the two of them. Alex allowed herself to keep crying, the woman beginning to hum softly, long lashes brushing her cheeks.

The woman's dress felt like silk, smooth, thick, and strong. She smelled of juniper berries and grapefruit. There was also a hint of clary sage, cedarwood, and lemongrass. Alex breathed in the scent, more and more images flying through her mind. Nirabella looked, smelled, sounded, and held herself so much differently than Theresa, but the way she held Alex in her arms was just like the Latina woman. Gentle and comforting, one hand moving in a circular motion over her back (right now her wings) and other hand gliding over her head in a petting motion.

The song she hummed was a tune Alex did not know, but it brought her back memories of Theresa holding her in her lap and brushing the young girl's hair as she hummed a lullaby passed down from her own mother.

When Alex began to calm down, her arms wrapped around Nirabella above her narrow waist, the Einharun whispered, "You are so strong, Seraphina."

"I don't feel strong," Alex hiccupped. "I feel weak. I… I gave in to them… For so long, and… I…"

She began to shake again, knees feeling weak from the guilt building up another wave to crash through her body.

"Shh…" Nirabella gave Alex a kiss on the top of her head. "You are not weak, Seraphina. _Far_ from it." She slowly pushed Alex back so their eyes could meet. "Do you know Ter blamed himself? Blamed his blood that he passed on to you?"

Eyes wide and brow furrowed, Alex inclined her head slightly to meet her mother's gaze. "What? Why?"

Smile sad and eyes shining with a swirl of memories taking over her mind, Nirabella led Alex to some large rocks by a stream to sit. "Had Svajonė said anything of Avalon?"

"I think I remember her mentioning each mortal dimension having an Einharun watch over it," said Alex as she dipped a toe into the cool water.

"Yes. Each dimension has one Einharun except Mzrisknu, which has two. You see, Einharuns are not beyond corruption. Some have fallen and still serve Akanolatah." Nirabella swirled the toe of her left boot in the creek, barely skimming the water. "Ter was the original Einharun of Mzrisknu, but he became dissatisfied with being a 'simple servant' and went to Akanolatah, believing that he would rise quickly through the ranks and gain control. We fought in different battles, and… both of us ended up falling in love. Later, he repented, and I helped him escape the Evils so he could come back to Avalon with me. Never before had a Fallen Einharun been redeemed , so everyone was suspicious." She gave a soft chuckle. "But he has proven that he is pure, just as you are proving yourself now."

Staring out towards the mountains, Alex thought about what she'd just been told. She'd never known that about Terrask, but remembering how Joan had said such wonderful things about "Seraphina", Alex guessed that most of the stories looked more at the positive parts of what had actually happened.

"I'm not sure if I can handle this," Alex whispered. "It hurts so much."

Nirabella gave a nod. "All the Einharuns and Guardians have done dark things at some point. Beyond Ter's story, there are our mortal ones. We live many mortal lives, learning, growing, gaining wisdom and insight. Darkness is not just light's counterpart or opposite. In any mind, darkness can become light and light darkness. What is real and fantasy can no longer be distinguished, which I believe you have already seen."

"Yeah, and it confuses me a _lot_." Alex's eyes moved up to the moon. It was no longer full, moving across the sky as it changed through its phases. "How am I going to figure everything out?"

"You are not meant to. None of us are. Even now, all of us are still learning. There will _always_ be learning."

Alex gave a soft groan, making Nirabella laugh, the sound husky.

"You have been doing so well, and Ter and I are very proud. Your journey so far has given everyone hope, Atol's father especially."

Blinking, Alex looked over at the woman at the mention of that zolak-gai's name. "What?"

"He was devastated over losing his lover, then his son. He could do nothing when Atol was taken down into Akanolatah, but he can now hold onto the hope that it is not too late." One of Nirabella's hands came up to cradle Alex's chin. "There is no such thing as too late. You have shown that more than anything."

The Einharun's deep-set eyes were filled with such concern, love, sorrow, longing, and pride, Alex just knew that Nirabella either knew about Idolon and the alternate future, or she actually remembered it.

How could she have felt, having to fight people that followed her _daughter_? What kind of pain had she gone through in that timeline, seeing the monster her child had become?

Alex didn't want to imagine it and only smiled as Nirabella took her hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

"Keep faith," she whispered. "Stay strong. Love as much and for as long as you can." Nirabella brought up her hands in front of her, a pale blue ribbon with a crest of Avalon charm appearing. "You now have that ability, and it is that love, that strength, and that faith that will balance the pain so that your strength will grow, your faith will intensify, and your love will spread even more. Everything is part of a cycle, remember that."

Leaning forward, Alex allowed Nirabella to secure the ribbon around her neck so that the cool charm rested over her collar bone. It felt as if the ribbon was in an endless loop around her neck. She touched the charm before looking up into her mother's silver eyes. "Thank you."

The woman smiled and brought Alex into a gentle embrace as the landscape faded, Nirabella with it.

**xxx**

"… told you an hour ago."

"Don't get smart with—Hey! She's waking up!"

"Nurse! Come—the hell did that come from?"

Only laughter answered as Alex grunted, eyelids squeezing as she tensed, ready to be hit with another wave of agony. However, none came, but she still felt restraints holding her down to the bed. She gave another small groan and felt the restraints being loosened as someone opened Alex's right eye and shined a light in it, making her hiss a curse. Then came a left, another curse leaving Alex's chapped lips, her throat feeling sore.

"Careful, she might bite" came a familiar voice that neared the girl, who blinked her eyes open, trying to get rid of the spots that penlight had caused.

"Natasha?"

"No, I'm your conscience" was the sarcastic reply as the last restraint came off, the nurse and physician helping Alex sit up and stretch her wings, which felt as if they'd fallen asleep again—_way_ worse than when her foot or leg fell asleep.

Rubbing her wrists as she kept blinking rapidly, Alex muttered, "Well you haven't been doing a great job."

"I could almost swear she's your daughter," an accented male voice joked with a laugh.

Alex remembered it as the same voice from earlier, and once her vision cleared, she saw he was a wiry man with small hazel-green eyes behind large, black plastic-framed glasses. On her other side was a tall and willowy woman that looked to be in her early twenties, and she had ivory skin and large purple eyes that looked almost iridescent. Ebony fringe bangs nearly hid those eyes, and she gave Alex a smile, guiding her to sit so her legs hung over the edge of the narrow bed, the physician inspecting her wings.

"Hi, I'm Kristjana," the nurse greeted. "You can call me Ana."

"Hey." Alex gave a small smile and noticed Natasha standing behind Kristjana, her rust-colored curls piled atop her head in a bun secured by a paintbrush. "And where the hell did what come from?"

"Dr. Igroch was talking about your necklace," answered Natasha when Kristjana opened her mouth. "It wasn't there until just a moment ago. Got another visit while under, I presume? At least you didn't get stabbed this time."

The nurse immediately straightened, twisting around to stare at the High Commander with wide eyes.

Natasha arched an eyebrow at her. "What? You've heard weirder. Hell, I'm sure you've _seen_ weirder."

"Doesn't matter how long you've worked here," said Dr. Igroch as he moved Alex's hair to inspect her left ear. "Every day will still hold surprises."

Still looking at Natasha, Alex asked, "So will I be going with the team?"

"You're not going to let that go, are you?"

"Nope."

"And trying to talk you in staying here would be a waste of energy, wouldn't it?"

"Yep."

"Even if I had you strapped down again, you'd find a way out, am I right?"

"You got it."

Exhaling sharply, Natasha shook her head. "Seriously, if I didn't already know better, I'd ask for a DNA test." She leaned against the wall and smirked as the nurse and physician worked. "Fine. Once you're done here, Ana will bring you to my place."

**xxx**

The physical took over two hours, Alex's hands still tingling from the three vials of blood taken for testing. Krisjana walked at just the right pace to stay a step ahead of the maln-grah on the left. Her shoulder length hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, bangs kept back by bobby pins. Her ears were shown, the long points curving back before swooping down to her long lobes. She was no longer in green scrubs, having changed into dark jeans and a red-pink top that was almost long enough to be called a dress. Hanging over her hips from a brown belt were throwing knives, and Alex saw the pommel of a dagger sticking out from the top of one of her knee-high boots. She must have changed when Alex had, getting into a long sleeved, light blue top with a high neckline; boot-cut jeans; and brown boots that came up to her mid-calf hidden beneath them.

"So will you be part of this team?" inquired Alex when the Elf at the front desk snapped, the front doors flying open at the command. The girl blinked in surprise, but with no one else around having the same reaction, she guessed this was normal.

"Thank you, Jii'al." Kristjana gave a nod to the copper-skinned Elf as she passed through the doorway, Alex right behind. "Possibly. Natasha will probably want some people you already know on the team, but when I'm not in the main hospital, I'm in Mzrisknu, helping out another group. That's usually my main job. I only come here when they're becoming short on staff, which happens when teams needing healers are being sent out into the mortal realms."

The two walked down the slate steps to a packed-dirt road. The land was lush, different trees dotting the area.

"What group? Does it have to do with the Purities?" Alex asked as they turned right onto a narrower path.

"Not directly," Kristjana replied. "There are a few Purities that stay in the group, though, because making sure the group reaches its goal is in the best interest of keeping balance in Mzrisknu. It's called Silver Wing, but with everything else you're discovering, I don't think you need to let that give you a headache too."

Letting out a long, slow breath, Alex nodded, right hand coming off to fiddle with the charm lying over her collar bone, having to touch it through the soft fabric of her top. It was cool to the touch like the _nazar_ had been, but it didn't hum in her hand. It made her feel safe, though. Like when Nirabella had embraced her. Like when Theresa used to rock her in her lap. Like when Jerry used to give her a piggy back ride up to her bed when she'd fallen asleep on the couch or in the sub shop.

It was a deep feeling of love and comfort that made Alex smile as her headache ebbed and the earlier pain was kept at bay. "Good call."

The two arrived at a large stable, a Sorcer getting a unicorn the size of a Clydesdale saddled up. The unicorn had a dark grey coat with golden feathering along his strong legs as well as a thick golden mane and tail. His long horn looked like shadow and a sunray spiraling to a sharp point on his forehead, and Alex smiled at the sight.

The Sorcer spoke in a language Alex didn't know, to which Kristjana replied, her words slow and stumbling slightly as if she were still in the beginning stages of learning the language. The dark-haired Sorcer gave a nod and went into the stables after patting the unicorn on his hindquarters to let him know he was walking around him.

"This is our ride to Tasha's," announced Kristjana, giving the large creature a pat on the shoulder, to which he bobbed his head and snorted. "His name's Klelnahn. He's typically used as a therapy unicorn, so he's a big sweetie. We don't have cars or anything of the sort in this realm, and we were fairly sure you'd never even been on a horse before."

"Only on a merry-go-round," Alex admitted, letting Kristjana pull her up onto the saddle right behind her.

Her arms wrapped around the woman's waist, and Kristjana made a clicking sound as she squeezed her legs, Klelnahn moving at the command. At another clicking sound, he moved into a trot, Alex tightening her grip as she bounced uncomfortably.

_All those times as a little girl I tried to beg Daddy to sign me up for lessons… I'm over it._ Alex took a few deep breaths. Other than her thighs and backside beginning to hurt, this wasn't too bad.

As the two rode, Alex took a look around. All the green, the air that was _much_ cleaner than what Alex was used to… She'd never been an out-doorsy type, but she had to admit that the land was beautiful. She thought she saw the tops of some mountains in the distance, and the sky was clear. There was a huge band of light stretched across the sky, similar to the glowing gas and dust in the sky of Tartarus, only this one looked much more like a sun, just stretched-out rather than an orb.

"Pretty, eh?" Kristjana's voice was upbeat, sounding like she loved being in this realm.

"Yeah."

"The others are in a house not far from here. Your father and brothers wanted to join the fight, but I think you understand why that isn't possible."

"I do."

Justin may have been getting stronger with his workouts over the past year, and both he and Max were doing well with magic, but Alex was sure they weren't yet strong enough to go up against Idolon and her followers. Juliette knew how to fight and had the ability to shape-shift into mist, and she was a good person to have on a team, even if she couldn't do magic (Justin and Max had collaborated to make it look like she could during their casting class in Wiztech). Still, she might not want to leave Justin, and she was still more or less suspicious of Alex and her morals. With something like this, there needed to be trust.

It wasn't long before Klelnahn was stopped in a large yard surrounding a Tudor-style house. There was a smaller, pale grey unicorn in the yard, the creature looking up for a few moments before blinking and going back to grazing. Kristjana hopped down and helped Alex down after as the front door of the house opened. The purple-eyed woman took off Klelnahn's saddle and set it onto a nearby wooden rail that came up to about Alex's hip, and the large unicorn looked grateful when his bridle and bit was then taken away, and he trotted over to another part of the yard to graze.

"Come on," said Kristjana after hanging the bit on the rail next to the saddle. "Time to plan."


	39. Page of Swords

**Chapter 39: Page of Swords**

"_We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey." - Kenji Miyazawa_

There would be seven of them going. It didn't sound like much. They didn't know how many followers Idolon had acquired, but Commander Skye of the Spies had informed that she guessed the numbers to be within the hundreds. Still, if they were going to Nyneve's Island, they could not bring a large army. That many people would not be able to make it, and with all that had happened so far, Natasha had reasoned that Idolon would only be bringing her most trusted followers with her to retrieve the artifact.

That was what Natasha called it: "The Artifact".

No one asked what it was. Even if there were still those that had questions about Natasha's morals and her past as having been an Undead, everyone currently in the house trusted her judgment and leadership. She was telling them to go with Alex (though she used the name Seraphina) to Nyneve's Island to retrieve the Artifact and get back with it as quickly as possible, and they would do it.

Get in, get the Artifact, and then get out and back to Celetsiakami.

Going with Alex would be Toris, Jasmine, Aya, Garrett, Joseph, and Joan. Natasha had to stay here, and Kristjana would be heading back to her home in Mzrisknu for her work with Silver Wing.

Around a table in the middle of the dining room/meeting room sat the eight, Natasha spreading out maps and pictures. The Zodiac did not distinguish between good and evil. Such things were arbitrary to them, and no one really knew what just it was they did. It was like Harper had told Alex at Wiztech: There were too many stories, and no one knew which (if any) were true. Natasha seemed to believe the Zodiac were children of the Divines and thus did not fight on either side. They simply were. They carried out their work, whatever that may be.

One of the pictures on the table was now in front of Alex, who tucked some of her hair behind one of her sharply-pointed ears as she gazed at the carefully-sketched picture on the old piece of parchment. It was a woman rising from water, long hair veiling her face but for a sliver of the center, showing a narrow nose and pointed chin. The lips looked full, but it was hard to tell. The hair also covered most of the woman's body, but she didn't look to be wearing any clothing. Also, her body didn't necessarily seem to be rising _out_ of the water necessarily. Upon further inspection, Alex noticed that it looked with she was _part_ of it, as if water particles were coming together to _form_ the body.

"It's very likely we won't see her," said Aya, who was to Alex's right. "Just like none of us know what the real story about the origin of the Zodiacs is, there's another theory that they actually don't exist. The artist that drew this is long-dead, and many say he never actually saw her." She ran the fingers of her mechanical right hand through her short black hair, pushing her long bangs away from her ash-grey eyes. The movements of the artificial hand that replaced what she'd lost in the New York earthquake looked almost twitchy, like she had only recently begun getting used to making it move.

Natasha looked up from her conversation with Garrett. "None of that will be of your concern anyway. Alex, do you know at all where that Artifact could be? The island is pretty large."

Alex gave a nod, her heart rate picking up. "I believe so."

"As admirable as faith can be, sometimes I much prefer surety," Garrett remarked, emerald eyes on the map in front of him.

With a sigh, Natasha replied, "With many of our cases, faith is all we got."

"It is our strength," said Jasmine, fixing the dark green cloth that covered her nose, mouth, and chin.

"What can be our strength can also be our weakness." Strands of Garrett's ebony hair fell over his olive-toned face. "Faith gives strength through the heart and aids the spirit, but it can quickly blot out your logic and reasoning."

Jasmine gave a hesitant nod to that, and Alex looked up at the man, who looked to be close to her father's age. He had been the one to first tell her that the Purities had fought along with evil first when good had nearly overcome it. He spoke with the voice of one that preferred logic over emotion, often pushing the latter back when they began to get in the way.

It was something Alex could not dare think of doing now. Emotion had its place, but that didn't mean it should be pushed aside or bottled up to set on some shelf in the back of the mind. She still felt the pain of her guilt, her anger, her hate, and her fear, but she was learning to work through it and use those emotions for what she needed to do, not let them take over and keep her down.

As Nirabella had said, everything was part of a cycle, and there needed to be balance for everything. It would be constant fighting, learning, and growing, but Nirabella had also said that was what they were all meant to do. Alex wasn't sure what the point was of constantly learning through eternity, but she couldn't worry about that now. All she could worry about was what she had to do _right now_, and right now, she had to keep Idolon from ever remaking the Aurora Talisman.

"But if you rely too much on reasoning, it can grow into hesitation," Natasha pointed out. "Balance in everything, Garrett. That's something I've heard you say a lot, so I don't think you should be forgetting it any time soon."

Aya smirked at that as Garrett looked over at the High Commander.

"I have not," he assured.

"But there is no harm in him being reminded," added Aya with a smile as her slanted bangs slid over her left eye.

Toris chuckled at the exchanged as Alex smiled, the group going back to talking about the island. They would be transported on the shore of Ireland overlooking the Celtic Sea, just east of Lispatrick.

Natasha pulled one of the maps towards her. "There, Jazz, Aya, and Seraphina will fly out over the sea…"

**xxx**

Far from the Irish shore, Alex searched for red and white rose petals floating in the water. It sounded odd, but that was what Natasha had said, and Alex kept her eye out for any petals on the dark blue water. The sky ahead was overcast, and night was only an hour or so away.

The Zodiac islands were never really in one specific place. The Celtic Sea was simply one gate for Nyneve's Island—the only known one so far. There were some who spent their entire lives (and some _many_ of their entire lives) searching for different gates, but they were hard to find. There could be multiple gates found in the far reaches of the cosmos that could lead to the same island, but the actual island did not necessarily exist in any of the mortal realms. Some believed the twelve islands to be part of the same world in a dimension unlike any of the others. Toris said he thought the islands existed in Limbo, and Joan had made a head motion at that saying she thought that that sounded the most plausible.

"Got it!" came Jasmine's voice from Alex's communicator bracelet. "Let's head back to shore."

Alex brought her left wrist to her lips.

"Sure," she replied as Aya said, "_Hai_."

Keeping her legs together and squeezing her arms against her sides, Alex leaned to one side to turn around and head back to the others. It took only minutes for her to reach the shore, wings blowing sand as she landed. Jasmine and Aya were already there. Toris and Garrett were both by the rowboat, which they would be riding with Joan and Joseph, while Alex, Aya, and Jasmine flew.

"We better move quickly," said Joseph, flipping the club he'd used during the game at the state park in his right hand. "Before the gate moves."

Joan gave a nod, looking a little nervous. "That is correct."

She was still paler than usual, but she looked well enough to fight, and Alex was glad to see her again.

"Alright," Alex responded with a nod. "Let's go."

She, Aya, and Jasmine took off as the others got into the boat, the Eagleite directing them to where she had seen the rose petals.

Within minutes, it looked as if the seven were about to hit a wall of fog, Joan carefully standing up in the front of the boat as the other shifted to make sure they didn't capsize. Joan took the hair stick out her bun, letting her deep red locks fall to her narrow waist as she held the stick in front of her. It grew into the seven-foot staff Alex remembered, the four crescent moon shapes and long, crooked blade coming from the top gleaming as she held the staff over her head towards the mist.

Around and boat, Alex and Jasmine kept circling as Aya hovered, both watching as Joan began to whisper an incantation, her body shimmering, becoming translucent. The wall of mist then suddenly stormed towards them, Alex nearly falling in surprise as Aya dropped about a foot, looking scared but doing her best to hide it. The mist circled the boat, thickening to where nothing beyond a few inches could be seen. Alex and Jasmine were forced to land on either side of the boat, which rocked at the new weight, Aya biting her tongue to keep from yelling out when some water sloshed into the boat.

Joan kept chanting in a language Alex thought she recognized but could not understand, knuckles white as she gripped the turquoise shaft of her staff.

The mist continued to thicken, becoming opaque as the waters began to turn rough. Alex looked around, seeing red and white petals beginning to circle the boat as the waters churned, turning into waves that slowly grew larger and larger. The boat rocked more and more, everyone but Joan staying silent. Finally, Joan shouted the final word of the incantation just as a rogue wave knocked them all overboard, screams of shock quickly swallowed by the cold water that tried to pull them down.

_Dammit!_ thought Alex in a panic, trying to claw her way back to the surface. Her mouth was filled with saltwater, nose and eyes burning as her head pounded and wings ached.

A hand grasped onto her wrist, and Alex finally broke through the water's surface, gulping down air. A series of coughs followed immediately afterwards, but she remembered to kick her legs so she could try and stay afloat. She had never gone swimming much in NYC, Jerry only taking the family to a community pool once or twice every summer—three or four times if the restaurant had been doing well. So she wasn't doing too well with treading water, but, luckily, Toris noticed her flailing and grabbed her and pulled her on top of him as he leaned back to float. Alex then allowed herself to relax, trying to catch her breath.

"Senka Divines," Aya gasped after Garrett took her up like how Toris did with Alex. "The island!"

Toris helped Alex up, telling her just to kick gently and keep calm. She did as told, looking where the Vampire directed. The mist was finally clearing, the waters becoming still, and Toris helped Alex swim to the shore as Garrett helped Aya and Joan and Joseph helped Jasmine, whose mask was hanging around her neck, water spewing out of her wide mouth as she coughed and gagged.

_Why learn to swim when you can fly, right?_ thought Alex as she thanked Toris once they reached a place where she could stand up. She shook the water off of her wings and wrung out her hair. She took deep breaths as she walked towards the rocky shore, touching the copper hairclip still in place.

"Where do we go?" inquired Joseph, dark blue eyes turning towards Alex.

Everyone looked towards the girl, sending her heart pounding. Suddenly, she was a leader. That was something Alex had never imagined for herself (aside from that other life of hers). She saw trust in the eyes of the six people with her, and Alex knew that she would need to trust herself as well. She couldn't keep harboring all of those doubts. They'd only end up taking over her mind, making her freeze up and put all of them into danger's way. Doubt could be a good thing, calling for ideas and situations to be analyzed, but, just like with everything else, it called for balance.

Closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, Alex tried to remember when she had come here those centuries ago.

Soon, the image of a large tree with a wide trunk and giant canopy held up by many other, much narrower, trunks came to her mind. This tree would be found at the center of the island.

_Of course._ Alex opened her eyes. "Follow me."

"Yes, Sata," echoed the six, falling into a formation as she took out her hairclip and headed for the forest.

"'Sata?'" Alex asked Joan, who had taken her place to the tall girl's right, wringing water out of her long hair.

"As in 'Sataruskasenka'," the redhead whispered back. "It means 'servant of the holy', do you not remember?"

"I remembered that, but 'Sata' was said the same way they say 'High Commander' to Natasha. How is 'Servant' a title?" Alex wasn't sure if she wanted _any_ kind of title. This leading thing was extremely new to her.

"One cannot lead if one cannot serve," said Joseph from Alex's left. The Troll clutched his club in both hands, eyes ahead.

"That is correct" came Garrett's voice from the back. "How do you direct others along a path unless you have helped to create it?"

It made sense, and Alex gave a nod as she squeezed the copper hairclip until it transformed into the sheathed jian sword. She tied the straps attached to the top of the sheath around her waist so that the sword rested over her left side, and as they entered the forest, the others fanned out to get around the trees. Those that had been on the outer part of the formation moved further out and sped up to get to the front.

Garrett and Toris stayed a couple feet ahead, Garrett to the left and Toris to the right. Joan and Joseph stayed close, only a foot behind Alex, and Jasmine and Aya were a few more feet out to the sides, Aya to the right and Jasmine to the left. All had their weapons ready and kept their eyes moving as they listened, now walking in silence.

The forest had a damp and dim floor, but with such a thick canopy high above their heads, there wasn't much vegetation on the ground to worry about. It was mostly packed dirt under a layer of decaying leaves and needles. For such a magical island, Alex would have thought it'd look more like the lush, bright greenery in Celetsiakami, but it looked more like a normal, dank forest, Alex having to fight not to shiver too much from the cold of the cold air on her damp body—her boots sloshed, and her jeans felt heavy.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alex saw the orange fins coming out of the sides of Joan's head where her ears should be flickering as if trying to catch any sound, and she could picture the same thing with the wing-like things on the sides of Jasmine's head doing the same.

"I think I hear something." Jasmine's whisper came from the communicator bracelet. "In the trees to my left. We got a flyer watching us."

"Got another to our right" came Aya's whisper through the bracelet. "Same. Trees. Must be a flyer. I'm willing to bet either a fury or goulen. Possibly a gargoyle, though I doubt it."

Alex remembered furies being half-bat Undeads like she'd seen at the state park. Goulens were of the Etamilu Live, looking like regular people but for ram-like horns atop their head and four bat-like wings sprouting from their backs. They also had long, bull-like tails. Alex didn't want to go up against either, but she'd known that there was the chance of Idolon's followers being here.

"Distance?" questioned Toris.

"Steady," answered Jasmine.

"They're just watching, jumping from tree to tree to keep up," Aya amended.

Alex brought her communicator bracelet up to her lips. "They want us boxed in."

"They can't attack from above," Garrett put in. "Canopy's too thick for flying, unless you're a Sprite like Aya."

"Gabrielle must also know where the Artifact is," said Alex. She and Natasha have both been calling Idolon Gabrielle, knowing they would be unable to explain to them about the alternate future. "She's waiting, planning to have us attacked at once."

"I don't hear anyone behind us," Joseph informed, falling back a few steps.

Idolon probably hadn't wanted to bring too many people to the island. However, Alex could not immediately assume her team had the advantage of numbers or even any advantage at all. She had faith in them and herself, but as Garrett had said before, faith alone and too much of it was dangerous.

"We should keep moving forward," Alex whispered into the bracelet. "When we're a few yards away from the center tree, the surrounding trees are skinnier and more spread out, leaving more room for attack. Right before we get there, I want Toris and Garrett moving to either side of the center tree. At the same time, I want Aya and Jasmine going after our tree-hoppers." She took a deep breath. "Joseph, stay with me. Joan, when the other four move, turn to mist and go to the other side of the tree. We need to get that artifact quickly. Aya, Jazz, can you take the followers while we get it?"

"Leave it to us," answered Jasmine at the same time Aya replied, "Of course."

Alex swallowed again, her heart feeling like it was inching towards her throat. _Divines, please let this work._


	40. The Hierophant

**Chapter 40: The Hierophant**

"_It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes." - Sally Field_

A long knife in each hand, Toris charged forward, heading right as Garrett seemed to follow those steps exactly but towards the left. The Sorcer held knives as well, and at the same time he and the Vampire moved, Aya and Jasmine raced towards where they'd heard their tree-hopping followers, Aya holding a knife in one hand and three of those sharpened chopstick-looking weapons she'd used in the state park between her fingers of the other. Jasmine was armed with twin swords, moving almost too quickly for the eye to follow.

Within seconds, there was a bestial screech, Alex and Joseph charging towards the colossal tree several yards ahead; Joan's body (and staff) seemed to explode into mist that floated upward and headed for the other side of the trunk that looked to have a girth that would have swallowed Alex's old house.

Close to twelve feet away from the tree, Alex skidded to a stop, sliding another half-foot or so as she twisted around, unsheathing her sword at the exact same time.

The cry of metal on stone rang through the forest, Alex's silver eyes meeting the green orbs of Gabrielle. There was a gleam to them that had to belong to Idolon, the blonde's lips twisted in a mad smirk. She held a katana, and Alex was pleasantly surprised she was able to push it up and over easily so she could sidestep and try for a stab to Idolon's stomach.

The smirk turned into a frown as Idolon managed to dodge, the flash in those large eyes telling Alex that she was not used to Gabrielle's body—height, strength, speed, or limits. They were all much different from what she was used to, the Wizard close to a head shorter than Alex with an hourglass figure when Idolon was used to having a tall, athletic build. Gabrielle had probably never done much physical activity, so it was obvious that this was only supposed to be temporary. Idolon wanted her own body—she wanted Alex's.

From behind, Joseph grunted as he knocked away a blow from a chika's war hammer with his club. Alex trusted him to hold his own against the towering creature with bulging muscles and skin that shone like polished pewter. Alex needed to focus on Idolon. Even if Gabrielle's body was not as strong or fast as its host was used to, the demoness was sure to push it to its limits. Idolon still had experience and knowledge Alex was only recently getting back, and her body was still nowhere near where it had once been strength- or agility-wise. She'd been getting better, pushing herself over and over ever since that day of training in Harriman State Park, but she had also received many devastating blows between then and now.

Natasha had told her not to do anything stupid. Becoming cocky would be stupid.

Alex blocked another attack, and it sounded like though one of the flyers had been killed, while the other was proving to be more difficult.

"I will not let you get in my way," Idolon hissed. It was weird hearing Gabrielle's voice in that way, speaking Etan with a fluctuating Wizarn accent. It sounded like the demoness wasn't quite used to using those vocal cords either.

Again, Alex pushed her off and faked to the left before darting to the right, cutting through mint green cloth and milky skin just as Idolon dodged at the last moment, taking the gash along her upper arm rather than a stab to the chest. The two danced, one lunging as the other dove out of the way, another swinging as the partner ducked or sidestepped. Sweat streamed down both faces despite the growing cold, and Alex nearly got her sword knocked out of her hands when she readjusted her grip, palms slick.

Her right arm felt strained, like the elbow had tried to bend the wrong way when the thin, diamond blade of her jian sword kissed the gleaming blade of Idolon's katana.

Pivoting on her right foot, Alex attempted to turn away from her opponent, left hand going to meet her right on her sword's hilt and turn the blade so it would strike Idolon's neck. Seeing this, Idolon spun to follow the girl's movement exactly, keeping the blade from meeting her skin. She then leapt forward to thrust her own blade through Alex's chest.

Alex barely registered the gash that opened up on her shoulder, close to where Juliette had bitten her back in NYC. Crimson fluid gushed, staining the light blue fabric of her long-sleeved shirt. Gritting her teeth, she tried for another swing to Idolon's neck, which was blocked just as a sharpened stick imbedded itself into Idolon's side. The blonde didn't drop her sword, but as she gasped in surprise, faltering, Alex took that moment to step to the left and ram her blade right through the smaller girl's chest. By killing Idolon, she was killing Gabrielle, Alex's eyes beginning to prickle at that realization.

However, she knew that the girl had already signed herself away, and when she remembered how Gabrielle had looked in that charms classroom, she decided that death would probably be a mercy at this point.

With a shove, Alex forced the body off of her blade and onto the forest floor, which seemed to drink up the spilled blood much more quickly than should be possible. Just what sort of island were they on? Alex had no idea who Nyneve was, what the Zodiacs were or what they did, but she was becoming uneasy and wanted to leave.

"Are you alright?" questioned Aya as she flew from the denser part of the forest, her voice on the border of earnest and apprehensive.

She yanked her stick out of the fallen body as Alex nodded. She saw Joseph standing over the chika, whose skin was dulling like tarnished metal, mouth and yellow eyes wide open, and deep green blood flowing out of his head, soaking into the soil as quickly as Gabrielle's.

_Idolon's,_ Alex corrected herself mentally. _I needed to do it. Idolon had to be stopped. She…_

Alex's thought trailed, heart jumping into another gallop when it finally hit her:

Idolon was gone.

Could she truly be dead now? _Finally_?

"The goulen transported away," shouted Jasmine as she hobbled over to Alex, Aya, and Joseph.

"The huli-jing is gone" came Joan's voice from over the communicator bracelets.

"Same with the sylph," said Garrett.

"I smell no others" came Toris's voice. "I suggest we do this quickly. I do not know what the plan for this attack was, but I suspect it was to slow us down in some way."

Blinking, Alex's eyes went back to Gabrielle's body, jumping when it got sucked into the earth. Joseph swore at the sight, and when they turned, they saw the same thing happen to the chika's corpse.

"Yeah, let's do this quickly so we can get out of here." Aya's eyes were wide as she tucked her knife back into her left boot and her sharpened sticks in a long pouch lying on top of her right hip as she continued to hover a few inches above the ground, dragonfly-like wings barely visible. "I'm starting to think this place really is a part of limbo."

"This is why High Commander Landon only wanted us in and out fast," Jasmine chimed in.

Alex gave a nod at that, trying not think of what Toris had said. She couldn't dwell on that or what had happened to the bodies right now. That could wait until later.

"Jasmine, stay with me," she said, wanting the Eaglite to keep weight off of her injured leg. There was a gash just below her right hip, and though it didn't look like it was bleeding anymore, the wound was deep and worried the maln-grah. "Joseph, go to Toris, and Aya, go to Garrett. We've already gone over how to get the Artifact."

The Troll and Sprite gave nods before running off to do as told, Jasmine sheathing her twin swords before fixing her mask.

Once everyone was in place, Alex sheathed her sword and held her hands up towards the canopy as she inclined her head and closed her eyes. "I call for the needs of the physical body!"

Next came Garrett's timbre: "I call for the nourishment of the mind!"

Joan: "I call for the growth of the spirit!"

Toris: "I call for the strengthening of the soul!"

Hands still up, Alex called out, "Offspring of Yggdrasil, I thank you for what you have done for me! Now I ask it to be returned! I ask as one of the element of blackfire!"

"Of death!" shouted Garrett.

"Of time!" Joan's voice squeaked slightly at the volume but still remained clear.

"Of blood!" Toris exclaimed.

_I still find that ironic,_ thought Alex. _Vampire having a shard of the blood jewel._

She took a deep breath and finished the spell: "The Artifact please give back to me! This is my wish, so mote it be!"

The ground shook as the final word left Alex's mouth, someone yelping as Jasmine stumbled. Coming out from the dark red-brown bark of the tree was a black draw-string back. It glowed with a pulsing light as it came out of the tree and flew right into Alex's hands. She caught it easily and tied the ribbons around her left wrist. The bag felt like silk, and black silk was often the choice for enchantments to protect powerful magical items.

"Time to go," said Alex into her communicator bracelet.

Back into their formation from earlier as the seven headed for the shore, Joseph inquired, "What about our boat?"

"I'd rather swim back than stay here," Alex muttered.

"At least you get to fly, Sata Seraphina," said Toris through the communicator.

"I am sure we will find out boat on the shore," Joan offered, tone optimistic. "I believe Nyneve wishes us here as little as we wish to stay."

_Makes about as much sense as everything else_, thought Alex. "Let's just move quickly."

As Joan had figured, the rowboat was pushed onto the shore, and Toris healed Jasmine's leg wound just enough so she could take off with Alex as the others got into the boat. The heavy mist surrounded them as they pushed off out to sea, clearing the further they went. Soon, the mist was gone, and Alex no longer saw any hint of the island. There was only the Celtic Sea, and she couldn't even find the white and red rose petals that had alerted them to the presence of the gate in the first place.

Once back on the Irish shore where they'd started, Alex looked at the bag hanging from her wrist as she thought about the fight on the island. Toris had said it seemed like those Evils were trying to slow them down, not actually get in their way or trying to get the Artifact themselves.

And what about Gabrielle?

It _couldn't_ have been the same Gabrielle from Wiztech, but Idolon was nowhere idiotic enough to come after Alex head-on in a body she wasn't used to. She was likely hiding somewhere, and that had been someone else fighting her.

Not to mention besides the chika and one of the flyers, all the others had just left. Where? Why? What had they been up to? Alex had absolutely no idea, and that terrified her.

"We should use a different way to get back," Joseph suggested.

The seven stood on the deep green grass away from the beach. Toris had Jasmine sit down, and Aya was chiding Garrett for making the cuts on her waist and back a bigger deal than they were.

Nodding, Alex replied, "I agree. We may still be watched, and I wouldn't put it past any of them to try and follow us. Is there a house near here we can stay at?"

"Nearest one is in Cobh," Garrett answered. "It's a house for members in a group called Silver Wing. Only one of the three that live in the house has connections with the Purities, however."

"Our best shot right now," Alex replied, pressing the center design on her communicator bracelet. "Natasha, we got it, but we were attacked. Toris said it seemed like they were trying to have us slowed down or something of the sort."

"I'll tighten security here," Natasha assured. "I'll contact Boudicca to get you. She lives in a bungalow in Cobh. She won't mind housing you until we can get you all back to Celetsiakami. Any serious injuries?"

"Jasmine has a deep cut in her thigh, and Joseph has a dislocated shoulder and broken arm." She caught the blue-skinned man's eye. "What? You thought I wouldn't notice that you haven't been moving your right arm at all?"

"Sounds about right," murmured Natasha over the communicator as Joseph rolled his eyes. "Alright. The seven of you will stop in Lispatrick with Boudicca, and I'll send Castel and Rodrik to bring Jazz and Joseph to the hospital."

Everyone agreed to the plan and headed for the road to wait for Boudicca.

**xxx**

The bungalow had four bedrooms, and the neighbors were far enough away that there wasn't much worry for anyone overhearing anything going on inside the home. In the kitchen was a tall, wiry man with sandy-blond hair that brushed the collar of his button-up, white shirt. His hazel-edged blue eyes took in the five people following the eighteen-year-old girl with her long, dark brown hair pulled back into a high ponytail.

"This is them, butty," she announced in her husky voice, motioning with one hand for the others to go into the den, where there were beige couches in front of a wood stove. The girl then turned to look at the group with her large, teal-colored eyes. "Just relax for now."

Boudicca spoke in what Alex found to be a musical way, and she trilled her _r_'s as well as occasionally spun words of a language Alex didn't know into her English. She said it was Welsh or came from Welsh, Boudicca saying she was from "the valleys" originally. She was half Elf, half Magician, and she'd been introduced to the Purities through an old friend that works as a scout.

However, Boudicca said that while she was happy to lend a hand to any Purities when able, she preferred to keep her attention on her work in Silver Wing. Both of her parents as well as all four of her siblings either did work for Silver Wing or were learning about it (her youngest sibling was ten).

Offering a small smile, Cerrulean gave a nod to the group as they headed towards where Boudicca indicated.

"The rooms are ready," the man said to his fellow Wing (apparently that was what the members of Silver Wing called themselves). "Also, your sister called."

By Cerrulean's accent, Alex guessed him to be from Ireland originally, but she would be the first to admit that she didn't have a very good ear for such things—she got English and Australian accents mixed up sometimes.

"Which sister?" asked Boudicca, pulling a chair from the breakfast table into the den.

She put it on the other side of the rectangular coffee table, in front of the three-person couch, which sat Toris, Garrett, and Joan. Aya and Alex sat on the arms to where they wouldn't hurt their wings, which they uncovered by taking off the long sweaters they'd kept close to the shore. Joan, Garrett, and Toris took the illusion spells off of their ears, and Joan fixed her bun, straightening the hair stick. They'd all hidden or disguised their weapons before going to meet Boudicca, and Alex touched her hairclip.

"Which do you think?" Cerrulean returned. "The crazy one."

"Krystle is not crazy!" Boudicca insisted, going to help the man that looked to be in his late twenties with the tray with what Alex guessed to be some sort of cake based on the scent of lemon and sugar, though it looked more like bread.

Alex also smelled something almost bitter, though she couldn't quite decide what it smelled like.

"Lemon-Irish whiskey cake," said Cerrulean, trying for a smile, but there was pain in his eyes. It looked like he had suffered great loss some time ago, and he was still fighting to get through each day.

He waved off Boudicca when she tried to help. "You can go get the tea." He set the tray onto the coffee table. "I personally can't stand the stuff, so I am also brewing coffee if any of you would prefer that."

"Coffee sounds great," replied Alex with a smile. "Thanks."

"Coffee for me as well, please," Toris requested.

"Better than my neck," joked Cerrulean as he headed back to the kitchen. To Boudicca, he responded, "She hallucinates, and don't give me that 'She didn't have the heart to get rid of her imaginary friend' nonsense."

Boudicca only glared while getting the teapot as Cerrulean retrieved seven cups.

Smirking, Toris teased, "Well, I have not had Warlock in some time." A corner of his mouth quirked upwards just enough to show one of his fangs.

The others chuckled at that, Boudicca telling him, "I'm very sure he'd be bitter. Now, what is the plan from here?"

"Let them eat and drink first," said Cerrulean as Alex opened her mouth. "We can discuss that later."

Cerrulean brought in the coffee press, Aya reaching forward to get herself a slice of the cake. Alex got two slices, giving one to Joan.

"Thank you," she whispered, giving a kind smile.

"Sure."

It was nice having Joan there, and this was definitely the actual Joan. Everyone on the team had been people Alex had met before and trusted, and she knew that Natasha had planned it that way. In Boston, the High Commander had said she wasn't the best at strategizing, but she seemed to have a good idea on how to have people work well together. With her, trust was of the highest importance, and Alex was starting to see that she highly treasured it as well. However, there was still much work ahead of her.

The loss in Cerrulean's eyes… How often had Seraphina caused that sort of pain in others, stealing soul after soul? How many families had she destroyed? Was what she was doing now good enough to win her redemption?

Win_ redemption…?_ Alex couldn't think of this as some sort of game or test.

Life didn't have an end goal. Not from what anyone (even the Einharuns) could see, anyway. It was all about learning and growing, but that was something that was difficult for Alex to wrap her mind around. Everything needed a beginning, middle, and ending, right? That was usually how life was portrayed. Birth, growing up, and then death. Yet, there were many, many lives, one after the other, no actual ending in sight. It was like every cycle was either part of a larger one or interlocked with many others.

As Alex had told herself before, she could only focus on what was going on right now. It was less confusing, and she would end up drowning in that horrible agony again otherwise.


	41. Queen of Swords

**Chapter 41: Queen of Swords**

"_Everything great in the world is done by neurotics; they alone founded our religions and created our masterpieces." - Marcel Proust_

After much discussion, Aya and Toris were sent to Dublin in the morning. Preparations had just been made for them to fly to Warsaw, where they would find further transport to a shuttle. Aya did not like the prospect of being cramped for so long, but they could not all stay together now, and Joan and Garrett were better choices for staying with Alex now.

Toris had the strength, speed, and heightened senses typical of Vampires, but Joan had many of those same advantages with her Marmenill blood as well as the added advantage of being a pretty powerful caster from her Sorcer blood and Gift with the water element. Garrett was strong physically as well as with magic, and while Aya was quick, that was mainly with flight. With her tiny feet, even walking could be a challenge unless she was careful, and if the fight ended up being brought here, she couldn't exactly hover without someone noticing. Thinking of how to handle an attack in Cobh period could prove tough enough.

When it was almost noon, there was a frantic-sounding knock at the door, Cerrulean getting a gun kept under the end table in the den and Boudicca grabbing a crossbow from a kitchen cabinet and aiming a charmed arrow at the door, using the wall for cover. Cerrulean motioned for the other three to stay in the back rooms before whispering a spell to unlock the door.

Scurrying in was a girl that looked a little like Boudicca, though her shoulder length hair was more black than brown, pulled back from her diamond-shaped face by a green headband that matched her distant eyes.

"Krys—"

Boudicca was immediately interrupted by the girl's rapid speech: "I know Cer said safer to be it if I came not…" She stopped for a moment and shook her head, as if that would get her thoughts in order.

The blond Warlock put his gun away as he cast a look towards Boudicca.

"But," continued the new girl as she closed the front door, "Alec told me—"

"_Krystle_," hissed Boudicca, putting away the arrow and crossbow before going to her sister and leading her into the den by the elbow. "You're supposed to be at Cardiff!"

Motioning for Joan to stay in the room and for Garrett to remain in the hallway, Alex came forward to take in the new girl, who barely came up to her shoulder. Still around Alex's left wrist was the black silk drawstring bag holding the Artifact, the girl refusing to let the item leave her person.

This girl, obviously Boudicca's sister, kept saying something about a vision and a guy named Alec, but she kept mixing up her words (many of them rhyming, actually), stopping, and starting again as her sister tried to calm her down and get her to focus.

"We should be alright," Alex told Garrett, "but see if you can sense any danger, and tell Joan to do a perimeter check just in case."

"Yes, Sata," replied the Sorcer with a small bow before heading towards the room Joan and Alex had shared with Aya last night.

_Still not used to that_, thought Alex as she slipped into the kitchen, neither Greene sister noticing her.

"—trust him—"

"—calm down—"

"—no—"

Their words all ran together, and Alex took the coffee press from Cerrulean, who looked more in the need of Advil than caffeine.

"So, who's that?" asked Alex, pouring coffee into three cups as Cerrulean prepared the tea and got an extra cup for Krystle.

"Boudicca's older sister," he answered with a sharp exhale. "Boudicca is eighteen, and Krystle is nineteen. Very kind, just about always tells the truth, and she's a Gifted." He took his mug of coffee from the maln-grah with a nod of thanks. "Unfortunately, this Gift comes with some unfortunate side-effects."

"Mind reader?" Alex took a look back at Krystle, who was being pushed back down onto the couch.

She tapped her feet and drummed her fingers against each other, looking very anxious. Alex remembered hearing how those Gifted with types of telekinetic powers often ended up getting side-effects that resembled different psychotic disorders, but because those Gifts were so rare, the Council of Magick often kept their eyes out for people like that to use. The Evils did the same, the Gifted person locked up and only brought out when needed.

"Premonitions, but close enough," Cerrulean sighed. "The family tries to keep her controlled as best they can so the Council won't find out about her and abuse her Gift. She can have lucid moments and is actually very brilliant. You just can't always tell when she gets into moments like that."

He motioned towards the den as Krystle jumped up again, eyes wide and filled with fear.

"And what about that 'hallucinations' you mentioned yesterday? I didn't think the side-effects could get that bad." This was why Alex hadn't tried tapping into the psychic element more than needed. Although very helpful, the risk of losing her mind when it was already questionable didn't seem worth whatever she'd get from it.

"Usually not, but I don't think it's entirely unheard of for those with foresight. Getting different types of visions… They're different from person to person, and even in her lucid moments, Krystle is unable to describe hers. But her family says she just never wanted to get rid of her childhood imaginary friend, though she asserts he's a spirit guide. That's what happens when you raise your children on those Faerie-tales of Guardians, Einharuns, and the like."

"Hmm…"

As Alex walked into the den, Krystle finally looked to be calming down, though she still looked a bit jittery. She looked up suddenly as Alex approach, eyes unblinking and pupils so small, Alex wasn't sure if she could see anything.

"This is Krystle," Boudicca introduced, sounding exasperated as she rubbed her temples. "She _should_ be in class. In _Wales_."

_I thought _Krystle_ was the older one,_ thought Alex in her head, _but I guess with Krystle's side-effects, they tend to act the other way around._

"Hi—"

Krystle interrupted her: "There are two others, yeah? Alec tells me they are shard-keepers. As are you…" Her eyes moved down to the drawstring bag tied around Alex's wrist, and the nineteen-year-old drew a shaky five-pointed star over her heart, finally blinking before looking back up at Alex. "You do not work for them, do you? No, not get, course they of—" She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, Boudicca sitting down next to her and taking one of her hands.

"Just focus, Tilly. You're alright."

"Yes, yes, I am, I know." Her eyes came up again, but they were not focused on Alex—they were barely focused at all. They went just past her towards the short hallway leading towards the back rooms. "Alec? Yes, they seem trustworthy. Powerful as well? Yes, that will help."

Blinking in confusion as Boudicca let out a long breath, Alex turned to look where Krystle was looking. She heard Cerrulean mutter something, but Alex swore she saw someone standing there. It was just a glimpse, the image fuzzy and translucent, like when ghosts were claimed to have walked by in front of the camera on those ghost hunter shows. She thought she'd spotted blond hair, but all she had really seen was a golden aura.

When she turned back around, she questioned, "Alec? Well, then things are going to get pretty confusing, seeing as my name's Alex."

She tried for a smile. She was very sure that "Alec" was no hallucination, and she had a feeling that whatever this premonition was, it had to be something big. Boudicca looked worried, though it seemed to be more for her sister than for the possibility of an attack, which made sense. Those Gifted with premonitions and telekinesis needed to be worked with often to help their powers strengthen, but usually only those that had gone through the same thing (obviously not usually doable) or those that had worked with someone with that type of Gift at some point (also not practical) could really help.

With Krystle, it was obvious her visions interfered with what she experienced with her normal senses, blending fantasy and reality to where it could become hard to distinguish between a true vision and a dream or her imagination. While there _could_ be an attack coming, there was a larger possibility of her having gotten a nightmare last night.

"It is not," said Krystle matter-of-factly as her bright green eyes turned back to meet Alex's. Her head tilted slightly to the left. "Then again, 'Alec' is not truly Alec's name either. He claims he is undeserving of his true name. You, too, feel such shame? All want one to blame, life is just a game, which we acclaim and set aflame those who do the same and then claim—"

Patting Krystle's hand and leaning forward to look into her distant gaze, Boudicca whispered, "Krystle, come back. Focus. You say you had a premonition."

"_Ie_."

She blinked rapidly, and Alex reached beneath the high collar of her shirt, the ribbon around her neck pulling apart at her command so she could take the necklace off and hold it in front of Krystle.

"Hold onto this," Alex whispered, stepping closer to the girl. "It'll help."

Both sisters stared at the charm, Krystle's hands coming up and stopping an inch away from the jewels making up the charm that looked separate but were one.

"Is that…?" Boudicca's voice came out as a whisper.

"The crest of Avalon," finished Krystle in the same volume, the corners of her mouth turning up in the tiniest of smiles. She finally grasped the charm with both hands, Alex letting go of the ribbon as Krystle pulled it to her chest, over her heart. "It's two things," she whispered. "Separate, but they kept getting mixed up in my head."

Boudicca sat up, looking to take this more seriously, Cerrulean coming in as well with the tea, looking interested and puzzled.

"First is Mathias," reported Krystle, eyes half closed and looking up at a scene no one else could see. "He is not in London to spy, he is there to report. To them. He believes our cause to be lost and is joining them for protection. He will be a trusted agent of them in due time. He cannot be trusted."

Fingers curled into tight fists, Cerrulean spat, "I will _kill_ that fucking bastard!"

Head still inclined to where the ends of her thick hair met the middle of her back, Krystle continued: "There will also be an attack, but it is not from them."

The way she kept saying "them" had a bit of hesitation to the word, as if she could not stand saying the group's name. It was the group Silver Wing was fighting against, but Alex was much more worried about Idolon right now. She didn't think she'd attack here, now, but she had no idea what that demoness might be planning. She still had to want the Aurora Talisman mantle and what shards had already been gathered, but her plan could not work unless she put the Talisman together again just as someone gathered the Seven Gems to summon it.

Touching the bag, Alex remembered that she had gathered nearly fifty shards with Idolon's help before the revolt. Many of the victims she had targeted had been a keeper of one of the Talisman jewels, and there were one-hundred-four in all. She had a blackfire shard, Joan a time shard, and Garrett a death shard. What about Cerrulean? Boudicca? Krystle?

"If not them, then who?" Boudicca looked confused, but her eyes flickered over to Alex for a fraction of a second—long enough for Cerrulean to notice.

Those deep-set, hazel-edged blue eyes turned on her, sharp as his face spotted with red. "What is going on, and who exactly are you?!" he demanded.

"Alec!" called Krystle, eyes still on the ceiling. "Check the area with the Marmenill-Sorcer girl."

"Sata," gasped Garrett coming into the room. "Danger is nearby. I can sense it."

Turning away from the enraged Warlock, Alex tried to keep herself composed. "Do you have any details?"

The grave look on Garrett's tan face and the knowledge of the shard he possessed in his Soulstone made Alex's heart jump up into her throat. For most, the shards didn't give much power, like how Joan had mentioned in her journal. She never missed a beat in her music, always knew what time it was, and the most powerful thing she could do was bend time for a few minutes to keep her from being late. It definitely wasn't something as big as when Alex had actually conjured blackfire on the blade of the sword she was using, harnessing the power of the only substance that could kill an immortal.

With Garrett, he got some sort of enhanced intuition when it came to someone dying, which was why he hadn't sensed anything on that island. The only ones to die had been those they fought against. Now? Alex didn't know, but she prayed it could be prevented.

Going to Krystle, Alex took back her necklace, the girl giving her a nod of thanks as she looked down. Alex put the necklace back on so it was hidden beneath her shirt as she turned to look at Cerrulean.

"As Boudicca had said, we're friends, and it looks like whoever was after us before is coming this way. Why? I'm still trying to figure that out, but I'm guessing I won't get the chance to ask when they get here."

She did an about-face to meet Garrett, who was awaiting orders. "Outside, out back. Send Joan in if you see her. Contact Natasha as well to alert her to the situation. I will be outside soon, out in the front or on the roof depending on what's going on."

"Yes, Sata." Garrett bowed respectfully, right fist pressed into the palm of his left hand as he did so. He then left the house to do as told.

Boudicca pulled Krystle up as Joan walked in quickly from the back.

"I did not see or hear anyone," the redhead announced, "and that includes the neighbors as well."

"Krystle, I want you in the basement. You can get there through the hatch under the carpet in my room. Go!"

"But—"

"_Go_!" Boudicca pushed her towards the back rooms, and Krystle finally gave her a look before nodding and doing as told.

Before she disappeared into one of the rooms, she turned around to face the front door. "Alec, watch over them." She blinked, gave a nod, and then went into Boudicca's room.

Getting his gun back out, Cerrulean demanded, "If Krystle says that the Giltebreks aren't the ones coming after us, than who _are_?"

Going to retrieve the cross bow as well as sheathed throwing knives attached to a black belt, Boudicca responded as Alex opened her mouth: "You're about to get a lesson in the cosmos, butty."

Alex took her hairclip down and told Joan to get outside and keep an eye out. Joan bowed as Garrett had and did as told, and Alex squeezed her hairclip, the small piece of copper shimmering before transforming into her sheathed sword, which she secured around her waist as Cerrulean stared, the earlier anger and bewilderment replaced with disbelief.

"Seraphina Sataruskasenka," she announced, her tongue finally rolling over the name correctly and with ease. "Nice to meet you. Long story short: Lots of people either want me captured or dead—it's sort of a 'whichever comes first' sort of thing. To a not-so-lesser extent, they want this." She pointed to the drawstring bag still hanging from her wrist. "Yeah, it's not really shavings from the Hope Diamond or other items to get the Philosopher's Stone, but what it _actually_ is will take even longer to talk about, and I don't know how long we have 'till those certain people I mentioned get here. So you may want to stop catching flies long enough to help fight them off."

Alex's eyes immediately lit up as her mind spun, and she turned to Boudicca.

"How safe is Krystle where she is?" she questioned, still speaking quickly.

"Very," Boudicca responded. "Why—wait. Are you _sure_?"

By her tone, it sounded like Boudicca wasn't sure which to be more concerned about: the Artifact, which, while she didn't know just what it was, she knew that it was important that it stay far away from the Evils, or her sister—that didn't need an explanation.

"If she's safe down there, she should be safe with this, and I have an idea. If I'm right"—she held up her index finger like Theresa used to do to here when both Boudicca and Cerrulean opened their mouths to interrupt—"Fine, I _do_ know I'm right, and there's no time or place to run. The neighbors are gone, telling me that they were driven away somehow." Hopefully that was it, but Joan would have said something if the unspeakable had been done. "They want a battle, and they want it _here_. Again, I can't think of why right now, but we just need to worry about staying alive. I had Garrett call—"

"_The hell did I tell you about doing anything stupid_!" came the roar over Alex's communicator bracelet.

_Perfect timing…_, Alex grumbled mentally, lifting the bracelet to her lips. "Not my fault, Natasha!"

"The moment you got wind of an attack coming, you should have gotten your ass out of there!"

"Then I'd be calling you from freaking Tartarus or a Ouija board!" Alex shouted back into her bracelet, feeling frustrated. Strands of ebony and pale blue fell over her round face. "They _knew_ that that'd be my original plan, and they're waiting just for that. We're going to have to fight here, and you can't just send a portal for us without the risk of any of them getting through it too. But I've got a plan."

"Is it stupid?"

Was that Natasha's favorite word or something?

"It's all we got." She caught Cerrulean's look. "Based on everything I've been through since just _December_, that's actually saying a _lot_."

There was a groan on Natasha's end as well as some people in the background talking. Alex thought she caught, "She has a point" and "Really, that's usually saying a great deal for a lot of what we've done." She also heard someone say, "Dear Divines help us all."

_Nice vote of confidence_, Alex mentally growled.

After a heavy sigh, Natasha said, "I shouldn't have had Toris and Aya sent to Warsaw so soon. Let me see if I can get anyone over there. Guardians be with you."

"And you," Alex replied. "I wouldn't put it past them to try and get there, and not to mention what any spies that may be there already might do."

"Security's been tightened, and I have Dani and Iirlet on the spy situation already. Just worry about what's going on there."

There was a **click**, and Alex let her arm fall as she took a breath.

"Okay," she said with an exhale. "Cerrulean, you've obviously never dealt with Evils before, but some of them might be thrown off by a gun. Got anything bigger than that?"

"THOR M-Four-Zero-Eight," Cerrulean responded.

"No idea what that is, but sounds great. Keep hidden with it and help as much as you can."

He gave a nod, and Boudicca stopped him before he left the left the den. "Take this too. I'll be fine with my own gun and my knives."

Cerrulean took the crossbow with a word of thanks before his eyes went to the sword resting on Alex's hip. "I'm guessing if bullets did enough damage, you wouldn't still be using those."

"These are easier to charm and spell," Alex responded before having to dig through all of those new memories. The dizziness was beginning to come back, but she tried to ignore it. She couldn't let it get to her now of all times. "Also, yeah. Since most of them heal so quickly, a bullet would only take it down long enough for one of us to finish them off."

"Unless it's a high-enough caliber to blow up the head," Boudicca pointed out.

_There are guns that can do that?_ wondered Alex as she blinked and gave a hesitant nod.

Cerrulean gave Boudicca a smirk before getting a quiver of arrows from the kitchen cabinet and racing to his room, and Alex ordered Boudicca outside. There was only the smallest of flashes across those teal eyes that told Alex the eighteen-year-old was not big on taking orders in such a way before she gave a nod and headed outside, keeping the door open. Alex then headed to Boudicca's room to find Krystle. The Gifted girl and her spirit guide could help them greatly in this battle, and Alex just knew that they would need all the help they could find.


	42. Three of Pentacles

**Chapter 42: Three of Pentacles**

"_I believe the future is only the past again, entered through another gate." - Arthur Wing Pinero_

The hatch was made of wooden boards that nearly blended in with the floor perfectly, a small gap there for it to be pulled open. Alex knocked on the wood, alerting Krystle that it was her. There was a **click, clack** of a lock being undone before the girl lifted the hatch, Alex untying the drawstring bag from her wrist.

"Krystle, I need you to do something for me." She opened the bag, grabbing ten shards at random. She then closed the bag and handed it to the girl.

"Yes, Sataruskasenka?" The hatch opened wider as she came up at the stairs to where she was eye-level with Alex, who knelt on one knee.

The ten shards clutched in her right hand, Alex handed Krystle the silk bag. "Please protect this. You seem to already know what it is."

Hands trembling slightly as she took the bag, Krystle gave a nod. "Parts of the Aurora Talisman." Her eyes shone like a little girl seeing her favorite Faerie-tales coming true. "I will protect it with my life, _rwy'n addo_."

Alex gave a large smile. She couldn't help but like this girl. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." She took a breath. "Do you think Alec would be able to speak with me? I saw him for a moment before."

Krystle blinked slowly, eyes still looking as if unable to focus on any one thing, yet still saw _every_thing in Alex's past, present, and future. Until now, she had never really understood what it was meant to have someone look through another. The wording had always made it sound as if the person simply looked at another as if he or she were invisible. There, but not there. Yet, locking eyes with Krystle, it was like Alex's body wasn't necessarily transparent. It was like her entire mind, spirit, and soul were on display for this girl to take in and examine with that calm gaze that rarely seemed to waver or change.

"Tell will I Alec you to meet with." She paused and shook her head. "Where is it that this will be?" she inquired, voice soft, almost not there.

"The kitchen. I'm planning something, and I will need Alec's help."

"It shall be." Krystle's pupils got smaller. "It cannot die. Stay strong."

She descended back into the cellar, Alex deciding that there was no time to ask what she meant by that.

Once Krystle was back in the basement with the Artifact, the lock clicked into place, and Alex fixed the rug and stood up as she opened her right hand. In her palm were two soil jewels and two water ones. The rest were each of the following: fire, life, plant, song, whitefire, and silverfire.

Picking up the whitefire one, Alex saw herself with this same exact shard but in a very different time.

_Atol's hand came to Idolon's shoulder as she stared at it. Never before had the zolak-gai thought something could sparkle maliciously, but this small shard did. Whitefire. She had found it orbiting the core of the Soulstone of her latest victim. The sight of it had confused her, and she still only stared. She had heard rumors of those that could harness various powers that were supposed to be unheard of for mortals—unheard of for even for immortals._

"_A dangerous element, indeed," murmured the man as he encircled his arms around his lover._

_The action sent a small wave of warmth through the woman. She didn't want to feel it, and her free hand moved up to meet his strong hands without any direction from her mind. Idolon had only had her soul for a year, but it was proving inauspicious. She had doubts of her plan. On occasion, she actually felt _remorse_. Such a weak emotion she would much rather do without. It would get in the way of her ambition. This soul might make her crumble and bow her head back towards the land she had run away from those centuries ago._

_She could not go back._

_She _refused_ to be just some servant as her original name had destined for her._

"_Yes, very dangerous," Idolon murmured, her quicksilver eyes unable to leave the shard between her thumb and index finger._

_Dangerous, but only to those that feared the power within themselves._

_Idolon feared nothing._

With a shaky breath, Alex put the metallic white shard back in her right hand and headed for the kitchen, going through the cabinets for what she needed.

How had Alex gotten that memory? She and Idolon were practically two separate beings, weren't they?

Maybe, but they were still the same person. Same mind, spirit, and soul, only Alex had not tainted hers.

Did this mean Idolon could get any of her memories?

When the monster had _lived_ in Alex's mind for so long, which memory had she _not_ tapped into? Maybe it had been a two-way street? Alex didn't know, and she had no time to dwell over it, nor did she have the brain power. With all the talks of time paradoxes, reality and fantasy not being as separate as most believed, and everything else, Alex was being stretched more than she'd thought possible.

In a cabinet above the stove, Alex found them: The dried herbs. They were kept in various jars, mainly what looked to have been for baby food. Alex grabbed one near the front. It was labeled **mustard seeds**, and Alex opened it up and set it to the side before quickly placing the ten shards onto the counter and unsheathing her sword.

"I was hoping you could see me" came a voice from behind.

Whirling around, Alex spotted the golden aura that surrounded a translucent body. This was Krystle's spirit guide.

It was Atol.

The sword fell from Alex's hand, and she quickly scooped it back up, heart hammering within her chest.

"_How_?" she demanded.

Her shoulders trembled slightly, but she turned back around, needing to get started. She could already hear Joan giving a shout outside. Alex could pick up the sound of flapping wings, and she began using the diamond blade of her sword to scrape the shards against, one by one. She positioned it so that the powder would land in the jar with the mustard seeds, and she was careful to not cut herself as she did this.

"You of all people should not be one to ask such a question." Atol's voice had a slight echo that made it ring.

Alex paused momentarily in turning the second soil shard into dust. "You're the Atol from the alternate future."

"More or less." He took a step forward. "I never claimed to be a spirit guide. Krystle just prefers to call me such. Something happened when Idolon killed me. I had to pour my aura into the Aurora Talisman to shatter the jewels, and when they scattered, as was I sent to elsewhere. However, I will eventually fade."

Again, Alex paused, blinking back tears she cursed for coming.

"Your Atol will stay. It is just I that will need to go, probably to absorb back into him. I do not truly know."

"He's not mine," Alex snapped after a second of hesitation, tapping into psychic to use telekinesis to scrape the shards against her blade as she sucked on her cut finger.

There was a small laugh. Then: "What is it you wish?"

Once the last shard had become dust, Alex sheathed her sword, capped the jar, and shook it to mix the jewel dust with the tiny seeds. "You can't fight, right? You can only watch."

Atol gave a nod. "Passive observer for the most part, that is correct."

"Then you cannot help much except for this." She handed over the jar, tapping into the song element. She used it to weave a special spell, feeling sweat beading along her hairline as she did so, hands shaking. Soon, the jar began to slip through her hand, Atol catching it. "It will only stay that way for a few hours. Take it to someone that can be trusted."

Atol gave another nod. "I know just the person."

He disappeared, and Alex took a deep breath, looking over at the potted plants along the window sill. She closed her eyes and requested energy, feeling some flow into her before she left the kitchen, swallowing back the small feeling of nausea. It faded more quickly than when Sakura had shared energy with her, and Alex was glad for that.

As she ran outside, she unsheathed her sword, wings quivering as she took a running start before leaping up with all the strength she could muster. Her wings unfurled, muscles straining and bones popping as she rose higher and higher, beheading a goulen before he even knew she was there. The creature's body and head fell, yellow eyes wide, the goulen still conscious until its head hit the ground, rolling towards Joan, who fought a sylph with long hair that looked as if it were crafted from wind carrying various leaves in those nearly-invisible tresses. Joan kicked the head away, one of the ram-like horns banging against her shin as she did so. She tried to stab the sylph in the same motion, only managing to scrape her along the side, clear blood spraying as Alex dove down to help Boudicca.

The eighteen-year-old with dark brown hair pulled back in a braid was barely holding her own against an Ogre and a chika, the former with a knife in his shoulder but still fighting strong. The chika hissed, white-and-green claws extended with sizzling liquid dripping from the sharp points. Alex made herself drop straight down, holding her blade above her head. As Boudicca chucked another knife at the towering Ogre, Alex stabbed the chika, her blade severing the spine. She quickly twisted the sword and heaved the muscular creature with skin like gleaming bronze down to the ground.

With three more slices, the chika was beheaded, dark green blood spilling over the matching grass.

Even if immortal, it took quite a while for one to heal from a beheading, and time was what they needed.

"Thanks," Boudicca gasped, yanking her blades out of the fallen Ogre. "Do I have to worry about this bewt?"

Looking down, Alex glanced at the six-foot man with teal-colored skin with white tribal-style tattoos over his arms, chest, and neck; black eyes; and black hair in long braids with wooden beads and red feathers. She then looked over at Boudicca before scanning the area.

"Still his original race, so he must be new. Just worry about the others coming."

Alex took off again as Boudicca ran over to help Joan, and it sounded like there was a shot that came from the attic, followed by the screech of a female gargoyle.

Everything moved by fast, and Alex had no idea when three others came to join their side. Caleb had his makhaira sword held off by the set of sais held up in an _X_ shape over the thalin's head. Sakura slashed through the throat of a gorgon with the long blades coming out of her fans. The gorgon's eyes had already been gouged out, and nearby was Laura, dark wavy hair pulled back in a high ponytail and yanking the blood-stained, curved blade of her kusarigama by the long chain, the end of which was wrapped around her left forearm, out of the chest of an orc.

With everyone and everything moving so quickly, Alex could barely remember who or how many she'd fought, not even registering pain from any of her bruises or lacerations. Blood of various colors and consistencies dripped from the blade of her sword, drops flying as it kissed the iron blade of a longsword held by a gargoyle with vermillion scales and long, crimson hair that had been woven into skinny braids, some coming undone while others looked to have been cut or burned.

The two almost seemed to dance in the air, Alex getting close calls before slashing through one of the gargoyle's bat-like wings, rendering it useless. The gargoyle spat and screeched as it tumbled to the ground, getting impaled by her own sword when she hit the ground.

Alex's dark skin was moist with sweat, large beads running down the back of her neck and her face. Her shirt and jeans were sodden with the salty fluid, and she was worried about the sword slipping out of her grip. She had no idea how long the fighting had been going on or even what the goal of it was. The overcast sky made it difficult to figure out the time, but it was definitely still some hours away from dusk. Some of the Evils that had been beheaded before were already nearly healed, their teammates fighting off any Purities that tried to come forward and stop the healing.

"No!" screamed Boudicca from below as Alex was attacked by the same yellow-eyed goulen she had beheaded hours ago.

Alex slashed the goulen across his chest, making him cry out as the maln-grah dove down towards Boudicca, arching up when she was close to six feet from the ground. The muscles in her shoulders, back, and wings strained as some of the bones popped at the action, but Alex barely registered it as she stumbled in a landing, legs wobbling after hours of flight. She sprinted after Boudicca, clutching the hilt of her sword as she went.

"_Krystle_!" shouted the Wing, and Alex's eyes widened upon seeing a flash of long, silver hair with a tint of pink to it.

The person was heading into the back of the bungalow, Alex believing she knew what the plan was now.

Out of nowhere came a strong force knocking Alex to the side. Her sword skidded across the floor into the den, and she barely moved her head out of the way in time before a knife came down, cutting off a chunk of her hair as she managed to pull in her knees and push whoever was on top of her over her head and into the wall, next to the doorway leading into the den.

Grunting as he got to his feet, Atol took out another knife, chucking it as Alex, who dodged, grabbing the first knife that had nearly taken her left ear off. She threw it at the blond man in a long, deep red coat, but he caught it by the hilt in midair as Alex yanked the second knife out of the wall, faking one way and going the other. He caught on to the ruse early, nearly catching her on the arm as she dove for a shoulder roll into the den. She landed wrong, hip and knee feeling as if they had been struck by hammers while her shoulder felt as if it were on fire, the gash from that katana yesterday now open, the stitches Cerrulean had given her torn.

The pain ebbed quickly, Alex snatching up her sword just in time when a shriek sounded from the back room as well as a **thump**—the hatch was opened.

"The fuck is it with you?" growled Alex holding up her sword after having dodged another knife. "Do you want me dead or do you want to help me? Freaking _choose_ already!"

Long bangs falling over those empty, golden eyes, Atol said nothing. Instead, he just threw another knife, again easily dodged by Alex as she leapt forward for an attack.

The zolak-gai stopped the blade before it ended up imbedded in the top of his skull, his black fingerless gloves obviously enchanted. He pushed her off and shook his hands as he got another knife, Alex getting her balance back and taking a swing to slice off the man's hand as another scream came from the back. It sounded like Boudicca was doing well in the fight for now while Krystle was probably crowded in a corner in fear. Alex had seen Boudicca fight, knowing she could hold her own very well, but if she was going up against Yin as Alex thought, she was going to need help.

After Atol danced away to keep his hand, Alex took a fraction of a second to press one of the designs on the side of her bracelet. "I need someone in the house!" she shouted after hearing a **click**, another knife whistling by her head and taking several more strands of her hair with it.

"Coming!" came Joan's shout over the communicator bracelet as Alex repaid Atol for the haircut when she tried going for his neck.

Within moments, the redhead was in the den, her knee-length red dress torn partway along the waist, one of the long sleeves barely hanging on. She charged Atol with her staff after Alex dodged, yet another, knife, Alex ordering Joan to take care of him as she sprinted into the back room, catching Yin across the back before she could throw one of Boudicca's knives back at the girl that looked like she was using every ounce of strength she had left just to stand in front of Krystle.

"You can't have her," growled Alex as she lunged, Yin barely managing to side-step away. The blade barely nicked the pink-eyed woman's waist, Alex moving to get in-between her and Boudicca.

"Oh, how noble," Yin purred sarcastically, her tone and the sharp gleam of her eyes nearly making Alex fall to her knees.

"Idolon," she gasped.

Those thin, red lips twisted into a smirk. "Who else? Some things you must do yourself."

Yin was Thres Armani, meaning she attacked the spirit. Idolon needed Krystle's soul.

For what?

Alex couldn't take the time to try and think that through, but she was sure it had to do with the Aurora Talisman. The original timeframe she had set for her plan had long-since been ruined, and she had to know that Alex had taken at least one of the shards—the plan would have worked by taking only one, but she'd wanted to be safe. Now, though, Idolon must have thought up some new scheme for her old goal to see fruition.

Back when Atol had first found Alex through her dreams, Idolon had been freed and had come right out with telling Atol how much she had screwed him over. If she had still truly wanted to use him as she had before, she would have kept silent, had let Atol keep attempting to grasp onto the memories of those feelings he had once felt for Seraphina. Yet, she had called him a pathetic fool, and Atol had felt that harsh, cold stab of betrayal.

In that other dream, Atol had tried to stab Alex, saying he was buying time.

Buying time for who? For what?

Even in that other room, his eyes even emptier than before, was Atol still no more than a puppet? Thrown and kicked around by Idolon's every whim? His movements had looked almost wooden, like he'd been on strings. He'd said nothing, mouth a straight line and expression impassive. He'd been barely more than an animated corpse.

Before, Idolon had been using his love to keep him under control. Now, she was using his pain. Atol's soul had been taken away by Set after the revolt, but had one of Idolon's followers gotten their hands on it? Such an instance would be of no surprise to Alex, and her pity for him grew. There was a pain within her chest that burned, throbbed, and stung. Her eyes prickled with tears she didn't want, and she mentally screamed at them to stop. Right now, she needed to focus on protecting Boudicca and Krystle.

However Idolon planned on getting the Aurora Talisman put together and summoned simultaneously, Krystle seemed to be part of the key.

Idolon lunged forward, a xiphos sword just like the one Seraphina had used during the Tartarus revolt—just like the one Atol had used to kill her—appeared in her hands.

Alex knew that Idolon wanted to waste as little time as possible on fighting her, catching the iron blade with that of her own sword right before Boudicca could be cut down. Krystle crawled forward to pull her sister down next to her, seeing her exhaustion—as well as something else. There was something in those large green eyes Alex thought she caught, but she kept her attention on Idolon, trying to keep her body between her and the Greene sisters.

The dance felt never-ending, and Alex knew that Idolon must have been hiding somewhere nearby, deep in meditation to find wherever Krystle had been holed up. She had to have known that there was some sort of room sealed with a charm, which she had been spending all this time breaking through. In a body different from her own, it would have been difficult—if not impossible—to tap into the elements, and even if Yin's tall, willowy body was without any lacerations or contusions, there was still a sheen of sweat coating her pale skin, making Idolon and Alex almost evenly matched. Alex was still at a larger disadvantage with her injuries, but she refused to admit any sort of defeat.

She wanted to yell at them to run, but while Alex kept herself between Idolon and the two girls, the demoness kept herself positioned to where she could leap in front of the door at any point. Idolon looked to be loath to risk a move that could let her victim escape, and Alex did not want to risk their safety.

Finally, there was a vicious **snap** in Alex's left wrist that made her cry out, the sword falling from her hands.

Instead of keeping her sword on course into Alex's skull, Idolon backed up, only letting the tip of her sword scrape over the front of Alex's shirt, just below her collar bone. The fabric did not tear, but Alex still gasped at the pain, falling as Boudicca practically threw her older sister towards the door and shove a knife into Idolon's right leg, just above the ankle, in one, swift motion.

Idolon hissed in pain, and Alex grabbed her sword with just her right hand as Boudicca got another knife, standing up on wobbling legs.

"Boudicca, stop!" cried Krystle from the doorway, but it sounded distant, like she was floating at the surface while Alex was deep underwater.

Alex lunged as Boudicca threw another knife, but her aim was off, only nicking Idolon in the shoulder as she lifted her sword against Alex's.

"No!" Krystle screeched, but, again, she sounded far away.

Alex was knocked down, Idolon throwing a knee into her diaphragm and forcing her to double over, sword clattering as a scream echoed.

"Krystle!" This time, it was Boudicca that let out a pleading cry, Alex trying to suck down air into her aching lungs as she attempted to rise. The room began to darken, the sun setting on the battle.

"_Go_!" Boudicca commanded. "_Now_!"

Blood sprayed as an ear-splitting screech filled with agony that made Alex's mind spin with hundreds of memories of her dark past filled the house. There was a low **thump** of a body collapsing, Alex finally able to look up, vision spotting as Boudicca's dulling eyes met hers, Idolon standing over the body. Alex found enough strength to yank Krystle (trying to race to her sister's side) down and behind her. Alex's left hand shook, sharp pain shooting from the wrist up past the elbow, and she held it over her chest, trying to gasp down air.

"Boudicca…," whimpered Krystle, words choked by a sob. "Boudicca… Boudicca… Boudicca…"

She said the name over and over, Alex finally getting to her feet. She picked up a fallen knife, Idolon's attention trained on the body as she knelt down, one hand going to the forehead as pale green light as small as pinpricks flashed in the center of Boudicca's dilated pupils.

Alex lunged but only hit a force field, pale blue light skating over the invisible dome that protected Idolon and her prey.

The knife skidded across the floor to under the twin-sized bed.

"Boudicca… Boudicca… Boudicca…"

Screaming, Alex forgot about her broken wrist and grabbed her sword with both hands, attacking the force field as Boudicca's Soulstone began to rise from her chest, Idolon smiling in triumph.

Krystle sobbed harder, Joan racing into the room with Laura. The two held the wailing girl back, Idolon's followers likely gone now.

Boudicca had been the target, not Krystle. Why?

It was a question Alex knew that she would never be able to stop asking.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

As Alex attacked the dome, she suddenly felt what she could only describe as cold heat. Around her blade now were metallic black flames.

Blackfire.

The only substance that could kill an immortal.

Covered in blackfire, the blade broke through the dome easily, Idolon looking up in shock. With her attention diverted, Boudicca's Soulstone sunk back into her body, but Idolon only stared at the dark flames dancing around the blade of Alex's sword before she smiled and disappeared, no longer caring about either Boudicca or Krystle and leaving Alex even more confused than ever.


	43. The World

**Chapter 43: The World**

"_When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'." - Erma Bombeck_

Three months after that battle, Alex was in Natasha's dining room, sitting across from the High Commander with a cranberry-and-white chocolate scone and cup of black tea with honey in front of her. Her wrist was fully healed along with all of her other injuries, and she had been staying with her parents in a house not far from the main training facilities and school. Justin and Max were determined to become great Purity agents (Max a scout and Justin in technology), and Juliette was training as well to be either a warrior or scout.

She had visited Cindy and Alucard in Scotland once, but the older Nottes had decided that they would stay on Earth, knowing that their bio-engineered lives would soon be coming to an end. In tears, Juliette had reported that Cindy had estimated Alucard to have about a decade left at most and her about twelve or thirteen.

Cerrulean had decided to stay on Earth as well, saying that with Boudicca deceased and Mathias a traitor, he was needed at his post more than ever. While Krystle had been in the basement, she had transported the Artifact to her dorm room at Cardiff for extra protection. Right after the battle, someone had been sent there to retrieve it and bring it to Celetsiakami. It was currently under protection that would make Fort Knox look vulnerable (as said by Natasha), and a couple of scouts had been sent to watch over Krystle as well as her family.

There had been mourning, Caleb dying when he'd been brought back for surgery and Sakura still in ICU. Three spies had been found and imprisoned, and Natasha liked Alex's idea about grinding up ten of the shards. She liked it even more that she had no idea who "Alec" (both Alex and Natasha had decided it was better to call the ghost by the name Krystle called him) had given the jar _to_.

Even if it wasn't the same as before with the Gem of Thought, Alex's and Idolon's minds were still linked due to the obvious reason. If Alex had no idea where to find that jar, then neither would Idolon.

Also on topic of the demoness, she and her followers had been lying low ever since the battle. Still, no one was really sure just what she was up to, but there were many theories. Alex's favorite one was that Idolon no longer _had_ a plan and had simply been acting in desperation.

Pulling the braid her curls were tied into over her right shoulder, Natasha took a sip of her tea as Alex picked apart her scone.

Boudicca and Caleb shouldn't have died. Sakura shouldn't be in ICU. Idolon and her cronies were supposed to have been defeated once and for all with Alex transcending to Avalon to be with her birth parents. That's what would have happened at the end of one of H. J. Darling's books or in a movie Alex and Harper would have snuck into the cinema to watch.

"Stop that," Natasha ordered after swallowing a bite of her scone.

Looking up and blinking at the sudden sound, Alex questioned, "Stop what?"

"Feeling sorry for yourself. Stop it. It's annoying." The woman's tone was nonchalant, and she took a long sip of tea.

"Yeah, and you being a bitch is annoying too," Alex grumbled into her cup, accidentally swallowing one of the leaves that had been floating on top. She really wished the woman would start straining the leaves. Did Alex really need a reading?

Almond-shaped eyes only half-opened, Natasha glared for a moment as she set her cup down. "How are your parents and brothers doing? Still good? How about Juliette?"

It sounded like the woman had briefly debated about saying something about that comment but had decided against it.

"Yeah." Alex allowed a smile to kiss her lips. "Juliette still doesn't talk to me a whole lot, but we're getting along a little better."

"Has she slapped you for me yet?"

There was a sparkle in those green-blue eyes, and it was Alex's turn to glare.

Theresa still felt wary about magic, but she had agreed to allowing Jerry to teach her some things. She was also in training to become a teacher, which was a career the Latina had always wanted ever since she was a little girl (well, that or being a model). Unfortunately, when her family had hit hard times, she'd been forced to drop out of college. When Grandpa had died, he had left many debts, so Theresa had been unable to take out a loan.

She and Alex had talked often throughout the past month, the awkwardness Alex remembered from that night when Jerry took them all into the Lair to read them some pages from Elliahn Durjaya's diary quickly fading. Theresa had spent most of those first days apologizing over and over for never telling the truth about the cab, but Alex had already forgiven her. Long ago.

She pretty much understood, Theresa still distressed about the miscarriage at that time, anxious about what to tell her husband, and suddenly finding a baby girl in the cab, the driver insisting that Theresa had brought her. That she had called her "Alexandra". That the files containing all of Alex's birth and medical information had fallen out of her purse. What police officer would have listened to that story when all of the evidence had pointed towards Alex being Theresa's child?

Jerry and Theresa had been working past that lie, but they seemed to be doing well. If there _were_ still any problems, they weren't going to let Alex or her brothers know.

They were a family. They had been for all of Alex's life.

Alex's, not Seraphina's.

It was still so weird, admitting that the two lives were the same person, when they felt so different.

Alex had been a rebel, but Seraphina had been a demon.

Alex had stolen food, but Seraphina had stolen souls.

Alex had led a turn-around in Happy Helper's Club, but Seraphina had led a revolt in Tartarus.

Alex had been transparent, but Seraphina had been too complex for Alex to even follow even though they were the same person!

"I told you to stop feeling sorry for yourself," Natasha growled. She stirred the leaves at the bottom of her cup with her right index finger. "Okay, want to talk through it again?" She set the cup upsidedown on to the saucer.

When Alex wasn't at lessons, training, speaking with spies and scouts, or spending time with her family, Alex was with Natasha, trying to talk through everything that had been going on. Nirabella hadn't visited Alex again, and the girl still longed to meet Terrask one day, but she knew they would all get to meet again one day, if not already. That was something else Alex couldn't wrap her mind around.

Time was not linear. Alex had found that out already. Nirabella had said all Einharuns lived many mortal lives before transcending, but Einharuns were always there. As far as any mortal knew, Mzrisknu had always had two Einharuns, when Terrask had left to join forces with the Evils for a time before turning back to repent and guard Mzrisknu alongside his love.

How did all of that work? Had Nirabella only lived mortal lives until it was time for her to transcend, or was she still living mortal lives now, the her in Avalon a collective of all she had learned, all who she had been throughout the past, present, and future?

Could the same be said about Seraphina? Was there a Seraphina now, and Alex was just a mortal life? She had no idea what to think about it, or even how she could.

Alex shook her head and then took a sip of tea. "Any more talking about all this and my head might explode." She stirred the leaves gathered at the bottom of the cup before setting it upsidedown onto the saucer.

Nibbling on her scone, Natasha nodded. "I know that feeling very well. I still remember the other reality, remember?"

Moving the crumbs around the plate, Alex never actually ate any of the scone. "But if reality and fantasy blend, like you've said before, then wouldn't realities mix too?"

"Makes sense."

"Yeah, not really…"

Natasha sighed. "It makes sense, _considering_."

"Considering that the cosmos laughed in sense's face, beat it up, stole its lunch money, and threw it into a gym locker." Alex popped a piece of the scone into her mouth. "And then once sense managed to get free, the cosmos hung it up the flagpole by its underwear."

"Why do I get the feeling that happened to Justin?"

Swallowing more of the scone, Alex responded, "The teachers caught those jocks before his underwear became permanently wedged in his crack, and Max locked _himself_ in a gym locker. He was trying to skip out on his math test and ended up falling asleep in there, and the janitor found him later that night. Mom and Dad were at the police station arguing with the police while Justin called everyone we knew and I searched around Tribeca with Harper."

Eyes on the table, Alex chuckled at the memories. It all seemed so long ago: hiding Justin's lightsaber and baby blanket; tricking Max into doing all of her work; getting nagged by her parents as well as Harper about college; Mr. Laritate being the last teacher at Tribeca Prep that still had hope in her; and going to "wizard lessons" in the Lair.

Even if those lessons had been lies because Jerry had been terrified of the Council of Magick separating them for the truth being known, Alex still had fond memories of teasing her brothers, annoying her father, and even having her schemes backfire.

Maybe it was the romanticizing of the past, like how she'd heard Mrs. Cannon mention in class from time to time during her lectures. Even though Alex knew there had been many times in her life that had made her scoff or scowl,or even wishing she could be transported away to where she could do everything the way she wanted and not follow anyone else's rules, she now decided that she did not want to trade that life on Waverly Place for anything.

"Ah," said Natasha, the corners of her mouth moving upwards, "I like that smile. You should wear it more often."

The smile grew, and Alex moved the crumbs around on her plate before taking another bite of the pastry.

"Now, I've been thinking more about what you told me about what Idolon did before disappearing from the bungalow."

For a woman that liked seeing smiles, she sure knew how to wipe one away quickly.

The woman picked up a wooden chalice that had been sitting between her and Alex. She stirred the wooden tablets inside with one finger as she spoke: "It's already obvious she knew that there was a house nearby for you to go to, and it's likely she could have known the exact location or had had you all followed. However, I think any souls she might have gotten would have only been a plus for her. We both already figured that her disappearing after seeing you conjure blackfire on your sword is significant."

Natasha picked up a tablet at random, setting it onto the table. The character carved into it looked like an _R_.

Going back to stirring the rune tablets as Alex nodded, Natasha continued: "Realities and fantasies blend, and she is you. All you are is what she could have been, and all she is is what _you_ could have been."

That was far from a plesant thought, but Alex knew that it made sense—well, as much sense as anything in her life could make.

"As long as there is a chance of you turning back, her plan can still come into being." Natasha placed another round, thin piece of wood onto the table, this one having what looked almost like an _S_. "When you conjured that blackfire, it showed that that chance was still there—strong, too."

Alex choked on the bite of scone.

"Oh, relax." The third rune was placed onto the table. This one looked like an arrow. "The chance is in all of us. You're not special in that department, and I'm not a fan of narcissists." She took a deep breath. The air smelled of jasmine, thanks to the incense cone in the corner of the room. "This fight is never-ending for everyone. It's just a little… _different_ for you."

She looked up as she smirked, setting down a fourth rune:It looked like an _H_, though the line in the middle was angled, not horizontal.

Exhaling sharply, Alex remarked, "Yeah… _little_ different. Like how the Blood War was a _little_ disagreement." She glanced at the High Commander's overturned cup. "Back in Boston, your tea leaves were in the shape of a question mark. What does that mean? I mean, I guess it's pretty obvious, but…"

Setting down the wooden chalice and going over to Alex's side to pick up her teacup, Natasha replied, "Nothing really obvious about divination unless you make it that way. Seeing pictures in blobs of tea leaves or coffee grounds, looking at rune stones, interpreting what the lines on someone's palm mean, what stars or clouds or saying, or reading cards… It's actually kind of like trying to make anything out of what happens in our lives. It's all about perception. Now, as for the question mark, it typically speaks of hesitancy or caution. Ever since becoming High Commander, I've been second-guessing myself, trying to be decisive when all I feel is doubt."

Alex nodded, able to understand that.

"As for what's in _your_ cup, I see what looks like an hourglass on top of a gun pointed at what looks to be a candle. You need to make quick and important decisions in the face of troubles that will threaten any help you could be getting, or maybe knowledge you could be gaining." Natasha set down the cup before going back to her chair and picking up the chalice. "So stop trying to worry about the secrets behind how time, reality, and life operate. You're crazy enough as is, and all you need to know is that it's all just about learning. I've long-accepted that life isn't a test; it's never-ending lessons. Many of them, and sometimes we fail and have to take the courses over again."

"Everything is just part of a cycle," Alex whispered, watching as Natasha took out a fifth rune. "You going to look at your tea leaves?"

"Nope." She pointed at the runes in order she put them in. "Raidho, Sowilo, Tiwaz, Hagalz, and Laguz. One path is always met with and intersected by many, many others. The Fates weave a web that is much to intricate for any of us to even hope to perceive any further than the thread we're on, and there is no true ending, but when we begin again, it's on a higher level than we were before—as long as we were willing to learn and work for that higher level, but sometimes an _F_ can teach us more than an _A_."

"Can you tell my parents that? Eventually, they're going to remember I was supposed to be grounded for that _F_ on my last science test."

Natasha ignored that quip and continued: "The first part of your journey has reached an end, but it is a brief pause where you have discovered much, and nothing sharp better come out of that mouth unless you want something else sharp shoved in."

Alex closed her mouth.

"It's time for you to look over this new knowledge and use it for the next journey, and this is good, seeing as the first step of your next journey looks to be a loss." Her eyes flickered up at Alex's shocked, fearful look. "Don't let that make you paranoid."

"How—?!"

"All about perception, remember?" Natasha's tone stayed serene. "Now, this isn't just a loss, it's some sort of sacrifice, made by one that knows just exactly what is being done, why, and for whom. Now, there will be destruction, but such a thing is necessary for change. Sometimes, the Holies set things in motion to give us kicks in the ass for the better of all as well as our own well-being. We don't always see it in this life, but that's where trust and faith come in. Also, this darkness is all about confronting fears, finding what is hidden, and using self-examination to prepare yourself for the future. Oh, look, you'll be fighting yourself again."

Crossing her arms, Alex gave the woman an "I am not amused" scowl.

"As I've said, we all go through the same thing, more or less. Right now, though, Idolon's presence is causing an upset in Tartarus—in Akanolatah in general, really. Now, the Evils' hold on Niolak and Throth is lessening. Balance is slowly being restored. Her plans have backfired on her, and even though she's still out there, you're destroying her at her very core little by little, moment by moment, just by making the choices you're making now."

"Yeah, yeah." Alex looked down at her tea cup. Nothing ever truly ended. It still confused her, but she was learning to live with that. Slowly, but she was learning. Over and over, she just told herself to go moment by moment. That was all her mind could handle. "Going to look at your tea leaves?"

"Nah." Standing up, Natasha took her plate and saucer (with still-overturned cup) into the kitchen.

"Think it's still a question mark?"

Natasha came back into the dining room, taking Alex's dishes. "Eh, maybe, maybe not."

"So you're not going to even look?"

"Nope."

"_Why_?!"

"Because there are always unknowns in the cosmos, and it's annoying the hell out of you."

Alex only glared as Natasha flashed her a smirk and wink.

**xxx**

The Russos stayed in a nearby Tudor-style home shared with the Solovyov family. Toris and Liliana were on duty while their eldest daughter, Viktoriya, was at weapons class. The academic courses had already let out, so Theresa would likely be home in a couple of hours or so, but Jerry would remain for an extra hour, training to be an instructor in defensive magic. Apparently, one of the instructors was getting ready to retire (many Purities retired between the age of fifty-fife and sixty before returning to their home worlds to live out the remainder of their lives there), and he saw Jerry as a promising replacement.

Max would probably be home from his courses at the same time as Theresa would be finished with today's training courses, and Justin was currently in the living room, playing with Isabella. The six-year-old girl had her father's green eyes and her mother's white-blonde hair, which was currently pulled back into intricate braids forming a bun on the back of her head. By how her small hands pressed down on Justin's shoulders, one of her bony knees just below his chest, and Justin looking like he wasn't sure whether to say "Ow" or chortle, it looked like Justin had agreed to be Isabella's dummy to practice the martial arts her sister and father had been teaching her.

"Hi, Seraphina!" the little girl chimed, thin lips pulled into a large smile that showed her pearly teeth and fangs, which were beginning to come in.

More and more people were calling Alex by that name, and she was surprisingly growing used to it. She hadn't thought she would, but it fit. She may not have transcended yet, but—

_Stop thinking about that_, Alex told herself. _Stop confusing yourself. Moment to moment. Moment to moment._

Even with the memories still spinning, Alex knew she was alright. She had started a journal, kept in her desk upstairs. She had once heard that the past was a key to the future; she'd also heard that those who forgot the past were doomed to repeat it. Alex was learning just how true that was with how circular time tended to be. Also, the present was drastically underrated. It had nothing to do with _forgetting_ about the future or past and "living in the now" as Alex had always insisted she preferred back in Manhattan.

Living moment to moment had to do with gaining the perception that was needed to either examine the past or think of what to do towards the future. As Natasha had said, it was all about perspective.

Alex smiled at the little girl and Justin. "Hey, Isabella. Justin, just give up now, she's totally got you beat."

Isabella beamed, and Justin gave a laugh. "Yeah, looks like it. Isabella, want me to make you a snack, now?"

"Later!" The tiny Vampire jumped back up to her stocking-clad feet. "More! More! Snack later!"

Chuckling, Justing pushed himself up to his feet. "Alright, alright."

"You two have fun!" Alex waved as she walked passed the living room and to the wooden spiral staircase next to the entranceway leading to the kitchen. "Make sure to beat him up good, Isabella!"

"I will!" Isabella chimed with a tinkling giggle.

"Thanks!" Justin called sarcastically, making his sister laugh.

Upstairs, Alex shared a room with Juliette. Neither had been happy with this fact at first, but just about everyone in Celetsiakami doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled up in their rooms. Natasha shared her large house with all the other Commanders as well as the spouses of the married Commanders.

With both Juliette and Alex attending classes and training sessions most of the time anyway, it wasn't like they had to spend ever waking moment together.

The Notte was at her desk, using the laptop she'd kept from Wiztech. Her fingers moved along the pink light making up the keyboard more quickly than at the school, and it looked like she was typing up a new entry for her diary. Like Atol, she'd said that after living for so long, she'd learned that keeping a journal helped keep her mind from being so cluttered from all the years she'd been around.

_Atol_… Alex took a breath before pulling a five-subject notebook out of the bottom drawer of her desk as she sat down.

The two sat in silence for several minutes before Juliette decided she wanted to say something:

"I forgive you."

The ballpoint pen fell out of Alex's hand. "Wh-what?" She had to shift to turn around so as to not bend her wings against the back of her chair.

Fingertips poised over the keyboard and eyes still on the screen, Juliette murmured, "I've been holding in all this hate for so long, and… it really hurts. It probably sounds like a selfish reason to forgive someone, but forgiveness is really just for the person doing the forgiving, right?"

"Yeah." Alex gave a nod, wringing her hands. She could see all of those people again, all of those pained expressions, all of the blood she had spilt. "But it can be for the person receiving it too."

That little boy Alex saw after getting her soul back… Dark eyes and skin, hair cropped close to his head… He'd had a shard of the planta jewel orbiting around the core of his Soulstone. He'd been a Magician in Niolak—five. _Five_.

And there he was again in Alex's mind, holding out a hand towards her. His eyes didn't hold anger, hate, or even pity. They held the gentle gleam of that gift Juliette was now offering. One of Alex's hands grasped at her heart, shoulders and wings trembling.

"You… honestly don't know how much it means to me." Alex's voice was small and soft, barely audible.

Slowly, Juliette turned to look at Alex as the girl withdrew deeper into her mind, seeing her other hand reach forward to take the boy's. Tears sprang to Alex's eyes, and she felt the weight that had been wedged deep into her chest ever since finding her soul finally begin to break up and evaporate.

Juliette went over to Alex's side of the room, sitting down on the foot of her bed. "I know you're not the same person you were back then, and… I just can't stay angry anymore. I feel like I'll end up destroying myself if I do, and it's been putting a strain on my relationship with Justin, too."

Alex nodded, opening her eyes. "If you can forgive me, then… I guess I have no excuse to not forgive myself, huh?" She triedfor a chuckle, but it fell flat.

Juliette smiled anyway, her tawny-brown eyes edged in crimson. "You know what's going to happen now?"

Getting herself under control, Alex managed a shrug. "I want to help Atol. Last I saw him, he was even emptier than before." The hand she had in front of her heart squeezed more tightly to where her nails dug into the skin. "He needs his soul, and I think I can help him."

Taking a breath, Juliette nodded. "Tell me the where and when, and I'll be there to help."

The red in her eyes grew, showing her determination.

Alex was able to smile now. "Thanks. That means a lot. I'm not sure about the when, where, or how right now, though."

"Yeah, we still have a lot of training to do."

"Yep, but we'll be ready. We have to."

"Over and over again." By Juliette's smile as she went back to her desk, it sounded like she'd gotten the same talk about cycles and nothing ever truly coming to an end that Alex had. "But I'm fine with that. While on the one hand, it sounds hopeless if none of this ever really ends."

Alex's smile grew as she picked up her pen. "But on the other, it gives us all the hope in the cosmos."

**_As one of my friends told me (with a groan, I might add, haha), I am one of "those writers". I don't like writing endings that have neat little bows tying everything together. Just like the cosmos, there are tendrils everywhere, nothing tying up in a neat little ending, because there_ is no true ending. :3 I hope everyone enjoyed reading "Memories", and those that have been reading since I first posted the first chapter, I am very sorry you've had to put up with my horrible, lengthy writer's block. Hopefully what I've written (finally, huh?) up has made up for the wait. :)**


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